Since the financial crisis, regulation of financial activities is at the center of economic and political events. The crisis has indeed led regulators but also the academic world to ask new questions about the effectiveness of regulation policies. To answer these questions, the French laboratory of excellence on financial regulation (Labex ReFi) was established at the initiative of the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM), the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and Pantheon-Sorbonne University and ESCP Europe (project leader) in the framework of the “Grand Emprunt”. Financed over 10 years, Labex ReFi will be evaluated by the National Research Agency (ANR).