WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/FRA/63 
20 March 2007 
 (07-1171) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   French 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   FRANCE
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):    
2. Agency responsible:  
Direction des pollutions et de la prévention des risques  (Directorate for Pollution and Risk 
Prevention) Sous direction des produits et des déchets  (Sub-Directorate for Products and Waste) 
Bureau des substances et préparations chimiques  (Office of Chemical Substances and 
Preparations) 20 avenue de Ségur 75302 Paris 07 SP 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applic able, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Biocidal products within 
the meaning of Article 2 of Directive 98/8/EC of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market. 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Décret relatif aux 
modalités de déclaration des produits biocides  (Decree on the Procedures for Declaration of 
Biocidal Products) (2 pages, in French). 
6. 
 Description of content:   Article 34 of Law 2006-1172 of 30 December 2006 on Water and 
Aquatic Environments provides that all biocidal products on the French market must be declared to the Ministry responsible for ecolo gy.  The declaration must be made before 
1 July 2008 or prior to the first placing of such products on the market, if subsequent to this 
date. 
 The notified text is a decree implementing Article 34 of Law 2006-1172.  Its 
purpose is to specify the information to be included in the inventory in question and to clarify the process involved. 
 Article 2 of the Decree details the info rmation that must be provided, essentially 
particulars concerning the entity responsible fo r placement on the market, the name of the 
product, the nature of its active substances, the uses for which the product is being placed 
on the market,  information regarding the classifi cation and labelling of the product,  and theG/TBT/N/FRA/63 
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  6. Description of content:   (cont'd) 
precautions that must be taken to manage th e risks associated with its use (safety data 
sheets).  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
 Biocidal products are covered by Di rective 98/8/EC of 16 February 1998 
concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market. 
 This Directive is being implemented gradually, however, and many biocidal 
products will not in fact be subject to author ization prior to placement on the market, as 
stipulated in the Directive,  for several years to come. 
 The majority of these products are curren tly available over-the-counter in France.  
An inventory is necessary to find out more about them, monitor the gradual implementation 
of the Directive, facilitate field checks, and supervise implementation of any measures that 
may be taken to withdraw products from the market. 
 The specific nature of these products, their often critical use for safeguarding 
human health, and the specific regulatory framework applying to them provide ample justification for such an inventory. 
 Declaration will no longer be necessary on ce all biocidal products are subject to 
authorization before being placed on the ma rket, as established by Directive 98/8/EC. 
8. Relevant documents:    
 Directive 98/8/EC of the European Par liament and the Council of 16 February 1998 
concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market. 
 Code de l’environnement Livre V, Titre II :  Contrôle de la mise sur le marché des 
substances actives biocides et autorisations de mise sur le marché des produits biocides. 
Articles L. 521-1 à L. 522-18  (Environmental Code, Book V, Title II:  Supervision of 
Placing of Biocidal Active Substances on the Ma rket and Authorization to Place Biocidal 
Products on the Market.  Articles L. 521-1 to L. 522-18). 
 Décret n°2004-187 du 26 février 2004 port ant transposition de la directive 98/8/CE 
du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 16 février 1998 concernant la mise sur le marché 
des produits biocides  (Decree No. 2004-187 of 26 February 2004 transposing 
Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parlia ment and the Council of 16 February 1998 
concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market). 
 Arrêté du 19/05/04 relatif au contrôle de  la mise sur le marché des substances 
actives biocides et à l’autorisation de mise su r le marché des produits biocides. Article 10 
sur l’étiquetage  (Order of 19 May 2004 on Supervision of Placing of Biocidal Active 
Substances on the Market and Authorization to Place Biocidal Products on the Market.  
Article 10 on Labelling). 
 Loi 2006-1172 du 30 décembre 2006 sur l’eau et les milieux aquatiques  (Law 2006-
1172 of 30 December 2006 on Wate r and Aquatic Environments).  G/TBT/N/FRA/63 
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  9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    July 2007 
July 2007 (declarations before July 2008) 
10. Final date for comments:   End of May 2007 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web site addresses, if available of the other body:   
Point national d'information  
CINORTECH - AFNOR 11 avenue Francis de Pressensé 
93571 Saint-Denis-La Plaine Cedex