. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/FRA/85 
27 June 2008 
 (08-3095) 
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:  
Ministère de la santé, de la jeunesse, des sports et de la vie associative 
Direction générale de la santé  
Sous-direction de la promotion de la santé et de la prévention des maladies chroniques  
Bureau des pratiques addictives (MC2)  
(Ministry of Health, Youth Affairs, Sport, and the Community 
Directorate-General for Health Sub-Directorate for the Promotion of Health and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases 
Office dealing with addictions (MC2))  
 14, avenue Duquesne – 75350 PARIS 07 SP  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers and 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):  
 Alcohol breath-testing devices (breathalyzers) 
5. Title, number of pages and lang uage(s) of the notified document:   Projet d’arrêté relatif 
à l’homologation des appareils de dépistage  de  l’imprégnation alcoolique par l’air expiré 
(ou éthylotest de l’air expiré) utilisés par  les forces de l’ordre et à l’agrément des 
laboratoires habilités à réaliser les essais, examens et contrôles de ces appareils  (Draft 
Order concerning the approval of alcohol breat h-testing devices (breathalyzers) used by the 
police and the accreditation of laboratories aut horized to test, examine and check such 
devices) (5 pages).  G/TBT/N/FRA/85 
Page 2  
 
  6. Description of content:   The notified Order provides that the NF-ETHYLOTEST mark 
shall be the technical referen ce standard for the quality control of alcohol breath-testing 
devices.  The Order provides that chemical and electronic breathalyzers which have undergone approval tests and checks attesting to their conformity with the requirements set 
forth in Standards NF 20702 of July 2007 and NF 20703 of October 2000 shall be eligible 
for approval.  Devices which conform to a m odel holding a certificate of conformity with 
standards, technical specifications and manuf acturing and control procedures ensuring a 
level of reliability equivalent to Standa rds NF 20702 or 20703 are also eligible. 
 The Order also provides that breathaly zers certified in accordance with the
NF-ETHYLOTEST mark shall be automatically  approved by the Minister for Health. 
 Supplementary approval tests and checks sh all be carried out by French institutions 
or institutions of another Member State of the Community, State party to the European 
Economic Area Agreement or Turkey which ar e accredited in accordance with Standard 
NF EN ISO 17025 by the French Accreditation Committee (COFRAC) or by an accreditation body party to the multilateral agre ement concluded within the framework of 
European coordination of accreditation bodies for the control of the devices in question. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  
 The Order takes into account the technologi cal developments of recent years.  It 
also enables procedures to be simplified, partly  by eliminating the requirement that requests 
be brought before the Interministerial Comm ission for Breathalyzer Approval, partly by 
providing that breathalyzers certified in accord ance with the NF-ETHYLOTEST mark shall 
be approved automatically. 
8. Relevant documents:  
 Articles L. 234-9 and R. 234-2 of the Highway Code; Order of 21 March 1983 on 
the approval of alcohol breath-testing devices and Orders of 6 August 1984 and 
10 April 1995 containing amendments thereto. 
9. Proposed date of adoption:  
Proposed date of entry into force: } October 2008 
10. Final date for comments:   60 days after the date of notification 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web site addresses, if available, of other body:  
Point national d'information CINORTECH 
AFNOR – 11 avenue Francis de Pressensé 93571 SAINT-DENIS – LA PLAINE cedex