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In this paper we examine the influence of governance on the financial performance of the thirty-nine publicly traded companies of the CAC 40 in March 2019. We analyze how social, governmental, and environmental performance cannot exist without financial and economic performance. The data analysis model is applied for the study period 2002 to 2017, a period of banking and financial crises. Our results, using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method and multiple regression with a final validation of the research model using structural equations, indicate that there is a negative but not significant relationship between governance and financial performance measured by ROA and ROE. But this relationship is significant and positive for a measure using Tobin’s Q as an indicator. Through our three tested and validated models, we can predict and manage the relationship between responsible and sustainable governance and financial performance in times of crisis and post-crisis.