Case C-751/25 P: Appeal brought on 17 November 2025 by Comptoir Sel Solaire against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) delivered on 10 September 2025 in Case T-190/24, Comptoir Sel Solaire v Commission
Date: 2025-11-17
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: France, Occitanie, Portugal, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, restriction on competition, salt








C_202600304EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/304


26.1.2026






Appeal brought on 17 November 2025 by Comptoir Sel Solaire against the judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) delivered on 10 September 2025 in Case T-190/24, Comptoir Sel Solaire v Commission


(Case C-751/25 P)

(C/2026/304)
Language of the case: French

Parties


Applicant: Comptoir Sel Solaire (represented by: T. Lachacinski and F. Fajgenbaum, avocats)

Other parties to the proceedings: European Commission and the French Republic

Form of order sought

The appellant claims that the Court should:






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declare that it has jurisdiction to hear and determine the action brought at first instance by the appellant, rule that the appellant has standing to bring such an action and to seek annulment of the act at issue;










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rule that the appeal against the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 10 September 2025 in Case T-190/24 is admissible and well-founded;










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annul the act at issue on the ground that the protected geographical indication (‘PGI’) ‘Sel de Camargue/Fleur de sel de Camargue’ is unlawful;










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annul the act at issue on the ground that the PGI ‘Sel de Camargue/Fleur de sel de Camargue’ creates a situation of unfair competition between operators;










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annul the act at issue on the ground that the name ‘Fleur de sel de Camargue’ is misleading for consumers.





Grounds of appeal and main arguments

In support of its appeal, the appellant raises three grounds.






1.


First ground of appeal, alleging infringement of Article 5(2) and Article 7(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, (1) in that the name ‘Fleur de sel de Camargue’ is invalid because it is unlawful. According to the appellant,






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it does not comply with the definition of ‘Fleur de sel’ laid down by Portuguese, Spanish and Croatian legislation;










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a PGI which cannot be commercially exploited is rendered ineffective and irrelevant since it is res extra commercium.















2.


Second ground of appeal, alleging infringement of Article 5(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, read in conjunction with Articles 1(1)(b) and 4(c) of that regulation, in that the name ‘Fleur de sel de Camargue’ is misleading for consumers. According to the appellant,






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the goods designated under the PGI ‘Sel de Camargue/Fleur de sel de Camargue’ do not correspond to the product commonly known as ‘Fleur de sel’ under, in particular, Portuguese, Spanish and Croatian legislation, with consumers of those countries having, at the very least, a legitimate belief that such goods are in compliance with their national legislation.














3.


Third ground of appeal, alleging infringement of Article 1(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, read in conjunction with Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement (2) and Article 10a of the Paris Convention, the registration of the PGI 'Sel de Camargue/Fleur de sel de Camargue’ creates a situation of unfair competition between operators, particularly those subject to national legislation which has adopted a restrictive definition of the concept of ‘Fleur de sel’. According to the appellant,






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the registration of the PGI ‘Sel de Camargue/Fleur de sel de Camargue’ falsely suggests that the product bearing that official European quality sign possesses qualities that it does not actually have.










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the undue granting (and subsequent exploitation) of protection to a name that does not deserve it automatically establishes a situation of unfair competition which, in fact, necessarily causes harm – albeit non-material harm – to competing producers.










(1)  Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ 2012 L 343, p. 1).

(2)  Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/304/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)