Short answer. The most recent donations are reduced first. Under Article 773 of the Civil Code, when there are two or more donations and the disposable portion cannot cover them all, the later gifts are suppressed or reduced for the excess, leaving the earlier ones untouched for as long as possible.
What the law says
If, there being two or more donations, the disposable portion is not sufficient to cover all of them, those of the more recent date shall be suppressed or reduced with regard to the excess.
Civil Code, Article 773 — Which Donations Are Cut First. Read the full provision →
Why donations get reduced at all
A person cannot give away by donation more than they could give by will. The law reserves a portion of the estate — the legitime — for compulsory heirs such as children and the surviving spouse, and only the remaining disposable portion is free to be given. When a parent's lifetime gifts add up to more than that free portion, the excess intrudes on the legitime, and the gifts must be trimmed back so the compulsory heirs receive what the law guarantees them. Article 773 answers a narrower question: which of several gifts absorbs the cut.
Later gifts fall first
Article 773 sets the order plainly: those of the more recent date shall be suppressed or reduced with regard to the excess. The reduction starts from the newest donation and works backward in time. An earlier donee has, in effect, a stronger position, because the disposable portion is treated as used up by the earlier gifts first; only what is left over is available for the later ones. So if three gifts were made in 2010, 2015, and 2020, and the disposable portion runs out, the 2020 gift is cut first, then the 2015 gift if the excess is still not covered, and the 2010 gift last.
Suppressed or merely reduced
The article speaks of gifts being suppressed or reduced. If the excess is small, only part of the most recent gift is clipped — reduced to fit. If the excess is large, an entire recent donation may be wiped out and the next one reached. The cut is measured strictly against the shortfall: the law removes only as much as is needed to protect the legitime, not more. Earlier donations remain fully effective for as long as the disposable portion can accommodate them.
What this rule does not decide
Article 773 fixes priority among donations; it does not by itself compute the numbers. Working out the legitime and the disposable portion requires valuing the estate, adding back (collating) the donations, and identifying the compulsory heirs — steps taken after the donor dies. The rule also assumes the donations are otherwise valid; it is about reduction for excess, not about attacking a gift for fraud or incapacity. Because the arithmetic decides who keeps what, and dates control the order, heirs facing this situation should have the gifts and the estate valued carefully, ideally with a lawyer, before anyone concedes a reduction.