Suppose that Roger Sobodka, a U.S. executive stationed in Paris, wishes to build a support office for his firm’s technicians in the Parisian suburb of Asnieres. He enters into an agreement with Francois Demblans, a homebuilder, to do the work for $100,000. Under the agreement, M. Demblans may seek reimbursement of costs attributable to unforeseen circumstances. The agreement further specifies that construction of the office building will be complete in nine months, and that M. Demblans will modify his work upon Mr. Sobodka’s reasonable instructions. Assuming that French agency law is consistent with that discussed in this chapter, is M. Demblans a dependent or an independent agent of Mr. Sobodka?