The audit literature highlights the influence of the context on the relationship between excess cash and audit fees (Gleason et al., 2017; Kuo et al., 2022). We study this relationship in the French context, which presents several specificities regarding corporate governance and audit regulation. The empirical study conducted on an initial sample of 1411 observations of French-listed firms over the period [2008- 2018] shows that excess cash is associated with lower audit fees. However, this relationship no longer holds for firms whose accounting and financial decisions may seem contradictory to holding excess cash. These results complement previous research and show an intermediate situation between those described in the American and Chinese contexts. French auditors generally look favorably on excess cash, but their perception can change, charging extra fees in circumstances where holding excess cash may seem suboptimal.