General appearance

Typically a small size molossian.  Powerful dog for its small size, short, compact in all its proportions, smooth-coated, with a short face, a snub nose, erect ears and a naturally short tail. Must have the appearance of an active animal, intelligent, very muscular, of a compact build with a solid bone structure.

Behaviour / Character

Sociable, lively, playful, sporty, keen.  Particularly affectionate towards his masters and the children.

Head

The head must be very strong, broad and square, the skin of the head forming almost symmetrical folds and wrinkles.  The head of the bulldog is characterized by a contraction of the maxillary-nasal part; the skull has taken up in width that which it has lost in length.

Cranial region

Skull : Broad, almost flat, forehead very bulging.  Superciliary arches prominent, separated by a particularly developed furrow between the eyes.  The furrow must not extend onto the forehead.  Occipital crest is hardly developed.
Stop : Deeply accentuated.

Facial region

Nose: Broad, very short, turned up, nostrils well open and symmetrical, slanting towards the rear.  The inclination of the nostrils as well as the snub nose (i.e. upturned) must, however, allow a normal nasal breathing.
Muzzle: Very short, broad, with concentric symmetrical folds coming down on the upper lips (length of muzzle about 1/6 of the total length of the head).
Lips: Thick, a little loose and black.  The upper lip rejoins the lower lip at its middle, completely covering the teeth which should never be visible.  The profile of the upper lip is descending and rounded.  Tongue must never show.
Jaws: Broad, square, powerful.  Lower jaw shows a broad curve, terminating in front of the upper jaw.  The mouth being closed, the prominence of the lower jaw (prognathism-undershot) is moderated by the curve of the lower mandibular branches.  This curve is necessary to avoid a too important shifting of the lower jaw.
Teeth: The lower incisors must never be behind the upper incisors in any case.  The arch of the lower incisors is rounded.  The jaw must not show lateral deviation, nor torsion.  The disposition of the incisoral arches should not be strictly delimited, the essential condition being that the upper and the lower lips rejoin to completely cover the teeth.
Cheeks: The muscles of the cheeks are well developed, but not prominent.
Eyes: Lively expression, set low, quite far from the nose and especially from the ears, dark coloured, quite big, well round, slightly protruding, showing no trace of white (sclera) when the dog is looking straight ahead.  Rims of eyelids must be black.
Ears: Medium size, wide at the base and rounded at the top.  Set high on the head, but not too close together, carried erect.  The orifice is open towards the front.  The skin must be fine and soft to the touch.
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Neck

Body

Topline: Rising progressively at loin level to slope rapidly towards the tail.  This conformation which must be sought after, is the consequence of the short loin.
Back: Broad and muscular.
Loin: Short and broad.
Rump: Oblique.
Chest: Cylindrical and well let down; ribcage barrel shaped, very rounded.
Forechest: Wide.
Belly and flanks: Drawn up without excessive tuck up.
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Tail

Limbs

Hindquarterters

Feet

Gait / Movement

Hair

Colour

Uniformly fawn, brindled or not, or with limited patching (pied).
Fawn brindled or not, with medium or predominant patching.
All the fawn shades are admitted, from the red to light brown (café au lait) colour.  The entirely white dogs are classified in « brindled fawn with predominant white patching ».  When a dog has a very dark nose, dark eyes with dark eyelids, certain depigmentations of the face may exceptionally be tolerated in very beautiful subjects.
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Size and weight

The weight must not be below 8 kg nor over 14 kg for a bulldog in good condition, size being in proportion with the weight.
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Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Nose tightly closed or pinched and chronic snorers.
Lips not joining in the front.
Depigmentation of the lips.
Light eyes.
Dewlap.
Tail carried high, or too long or abnormally short.
Loose elbows.
Straight hock or placed forward.
Incorrect movement.
Coat (hair) too long.
Speckled coat.
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Serious faults

• Incisors visible when mouth closed.
• Tongue visible when mouth closed.
• Stiff beating movement of the forelegs.
• Pink spots on the face, except in the case of brindled fawns with medium white patching (« caille ») and fawns with limited or predominant white patching. (« fauve »).
• Excessive or insufficient weight.
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Disqualifications

• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Colour of nose other than black.
• Hare lip.
• Dog with lower incisors articulating behind upper incisors.
• Dog with permanently visible canines, mouth being closed.
• Eyes of two different colours (heterochromatic).
• Ears not carried erect.
• Mutilation of ears, tail or dewclaws.
• Taillessness.
• Dewclaws on hindquarters.
• Colour of coat black and tan, mouse grey, brown.
  

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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