Source: https://iclg.com/practice-areas/consumer-protection-laws-and-regulations/france
Timestamp: 2020-08-12 23:32:20
Document Index: 669271756

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 1604', 'Art. 1604', 'Art. 1641', 'Art. 1130', 'Art. 221', 'Art. 222', 'Art. 1245', 'Art. 1240', 'Art. 1242', 'Art. 121', 'Art. 1240', 'Art. 223', 'Art. 6', 'Art. 2224', 'Art. 8', 'Art. 498', 'Art. 538', 'Art. 539']

Consumer Protection 2020 | Laws and Regulations | France | ICLG
France: Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations 2020
ICLG - Consumer Protection Laws and Regulations - France covers common issues in consumer protection laws and regulations, including substantive provisions, enforcement action, remedies and anticipated reforms, in 23 jurisdictions.
ICLG.com > Practice Areas > Consumer Protection > France
Ashurst LLP | 26 May 2020
Ashurst LLP | 30 Apr 2020
Rules on consumer protection are generally found in the Consumer Code.
Consumer law applies to both consumers and so-called “non-professionals”. According to the Consumer Code’s Liminary Article, a consumer is “any physical person not acting for purposes which are in the framework of his/her commercial, industrial, artisanal, self-employed or agricultural activity”. The same Article defines “non-professionals” as any legal person who is not acting in a professional capacity.
As provided for by the Consumer Code’s Liminary Article mentioned above, Consumer protection rules apply to so-called “professionals” which are defined as “any physical or legal person, public or private, acting for purposes which are within the framework of its commercial, industrial, artisanal, self-employed or agricultural activity, also where it acts in the name and on behalf of another professional”.
The officials in charge of investigating and verifying alleged breaches of the provisions of the Consumer Code are agents of the Ministry of Economic and Financial Affairs, part of the French Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (“DGCCRF”).
Depending on the sector (different rules apply to e.g. product quality and security, consumer information, unfair trade practices, etc.) they may, in addition to carrying out investigations, impose official warnings, injunctions, administrative penalties (see below) or refer matters to the public prosecutor who will initiate criminal proceedings (as an alternative to these criminal proceedings, DGCCRF may conclude, subject to the public prosecutor’s prior approval, a settlement with the defendant in relation to certain offences). DGCCRF may also use the civil courts in order to obtain the removal of unfair contract terms from certain consumer contracts.
Specific authorities may be competent to set standards for consumer goods in certain given sectors (see, for instance, the answers to questions 2.2 and 2.9): the French Directorate General for Food (“DGAL”) is notably competent to issue administrative decrees fixing safety standards for food.
Moreover, other administrative bodies have consultative powers: for instance, the decrees adopted by the Conseil d’Etat (Council of the State) in the field of product safety or conformity can also be subject to prior opinions from the relevant sectoral administrative authority (see for instance the “Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé” (French Agency for the Safety of Health Products) (“ANSM”) for medicine; the “Conseil national de l’alimentation”(French National Food Council), Art. D. 824-2 of the Consumer Code, for food; and the “Commission de regulation de l’énergie” (Commission for Energy Regulation) (“CRE”) for energy).
In urgent cases, the Ministry in charge of consumer protection and the other relevant Ministries may also issue decrees to suspend the making, import, export or marketing of a product and to initiate a recall procedure (Art. L. 521-17 of the Consumer Code).
Finally, French law allows multiple public bodies (e.g. ministries, agencies) to enforce provisions of the Consumer Code in specific sectors (Art. L. 511-20 to L. 511-26 of the Consumer Code) and the competences of each administrative agent, i.e. what consumer law provisions a given administrative agent can enforce, have to be assessed on a case-by-case-basis. For instance:
For misleading and deceptive commercial practices (see answer to question 2.16), inspectors for veterinary public health and accredited agents from the Ministry of Agriculture are competent (Art. L. 511-20 of the Consumer Code).
For infringements to Articles L. 511-5 to L. 511-9 of the Consumer Code (concerning consumer information, disloyal commercial practices, formation and execution of consumer contracts and consumer credits), specific administrative agents can be appointed by governmental decrees in order to enforce consumer law (Art. L. 511-21 of the Consumer Code). Currently, sectors in which such decrees have been issued include transport, insurance, environment, etc. (Art. L. 511-21 of the Consumer Code).
For infringements of provisions of the Fourth Book of the Consumer Code (concerning the conformity and the safety of products, as well as compliance to injunctions of conformity), a list of competent administrative agents can be found in Article L. 511-22 of the Consumer Code and includes customs officials, tax agents, labour inspectors, accredited agents from the Ministry of Agriculture, accredited agents from the Ministry or authority in charge of the sea, etc.
Furthermore, more specific powers are defined in given sectors, such as public health: doctors or pharmacists can be accredited as agents (Art. L. 511-23 of the Consumer Code) in order to enforce specific consumer law provisions.
Both consumer law and civil law provide for a general duty of conformity (Art. L. 411-1 of the Consumer Code) according to which the person who has first put a product or service on the national market or on the European Union (“EU”) market has to ensure that it complies with the relevant laws and regulations on security, safety, fairness of commercial transactions and consumer protection. The seller has to carry out the necessary checks and in case of non-conformity, it must inform the buyer.
A manufacturer who has affixed the “CE” mark on its product has obtained a certificate of conformity allowing it to put the product on the EU market, but it does not exempt the first seller on the national or EU market of its duty to control the products (Cour Cassation (French Supreme Court for civil and criminal matters), 7 April 1999, No 98-83770). Moreover, since the burden of proof lies on it, the entity in charge (i.e. the manufacturer or the other professional who has first put the product on the market) should keep all relevant documents establishing compliance.
Non-conformity of the product or service may also be used in order to characterise an offence of deceit (“tromperie” – Art. L. 441-1 of the Consumer Code) or falsification (Art. L. 413-1 of the Consumer Code).
Both the Consumer and the Civil Codes provide for a specific duty to deliver goods which comply with the terms of the contract (Art. L. 217-4 of the Consumer Code and Art. 1604 and 1641 of the Civil Code). There are, however, differences between the Consumer Code and the Civil Code.
First, they differ in scope. The Consumer Code only applies to specific types of contracts (see answer to question 2.3), whereas the Civil Code applies to all contracts for the sale of goods.
Secondly, the duty of conformity in the Consumer Code encompasses both the duty to deliver a good or service compliant with contractual terms (“garantie de conformité”) and the duty to offer a guarantee against any hidden defects (“garantie des vices cachés”). In the Civil Code, this duty is divided into two articles with separate conditions.
The notion of “conformity” to the relevant laws and regulations on security, safety, loyalty of commercial transactions and consumer protection can be assessed in two ways.
First, according to Article L. 411-1 of the Consumer Code, conformity must be assessed against State Council decrees (“Décrets en Conseil d’Etat”), the so-called Conseil d’Etat (Art. L. 412-1 of the Consumer Code), industry customs and norms (e.g. AFNOR norms), the state of art (e.g. the level of knowledge and development achieved in the industry), information previously given by the seller or the manufacturer of the product, the terms of the contract, etc. The State Council decrees in relation to product safety or security are specific and can set conditions on the composition or denomination of the products, safety rules, the packaging, etc. Moreover, in France, there are thousands of industry norms which are negotiated between interested parties (e.g. firms, consumer associations, etc.). Most of these norms are established by the French Standards Association (Association Française de Normalisation, “AFNOR”) which is a non-profit organisation controlled by the Minister for Industry.
Secondly, conformity can be assessed according to the specific terms of a contract. According to Article L. 217-5 of the Consumer Code, a product or service complies with the terms of the contract if it can perform the use expected from similar goods. Two types of analysis are available. First, an in concreto analysis can be used and asks whether the product or service fits the seller’s description. Secondly, while applying an in abstracto analysis, the product can be compared to the qualities and functions usually expected by a buyer. The defect of the product has to exist at the time the good or service was delivered or when the product was installed by the seller or under his responsibility. When the existence of a defect is established, the burden of proof lies on the seller to prove that it did not exist at the time of delivery.
In the Civil Code, according the guarantee of conformity (Art. 1604 and following of the Consumer Code), the seller has to deliver the buyer the goods and all the goods’ accessories which were agreed upon. The product has to be able to be used in the way usually expected from a reasonable buyer with consideration to the terms of the contract and to the general principle of good faith which governs the execution of contracts under French law. Secondly, for the guarantee against hidden defects (Art. 1641 and following of the Civil Code), the defect, in order to give rise to remedies, has to (1) be inherent to the product, (2) be hidden from the buyer at the time of sale, (3) exist before the sale or before the transfer of the risks associated to the good sold, and (4) remain unknown to the buyer who has two years from the moment he becomes aware of the defect to initiate legal proceedings.
The scope of application of the provisions relating to the quality of goods and services varies.
First, every product or service put on the EU or the national market and sold by a professional to a consumer is covered by the general duty of conformity (Art. L. 411-1 of the Consumer Code). This duty of conformity applies to whichever entity in the distribution chain (e.g. importer, wholesaler, retailer) first put the product or service on the market.
Secondly, the contractual duty of conformity contained in the Consumer Code (Art. L. 217-4 of the Consumer Code) only applies to contracts for the sale of tangible personal property (either already in existence or to be produced) and contracts for the sale of water and gas when it is packaged in a determined volume or quantity according to Article L. 217-1 of the Consumer Code.
Thirdly, under the Civil Code, the duty to deliver goods compliant with contractual terms (“garantie de conformité”) and the duty to offer a guarantee against any hidden defects (“garantie des vices cachés”) apply to all contracts for the sale of goods.
More specific requirements apply to certain types of products (e.g. food and medicine) and can be found, for instance, in decrees of the State Council.
There are no exceptions to these provisions.
Fines. Non-compliance with the self-control obligation (see answer to question 2.1) does not lead to a specific fine. However, in case of non-compliance with the decrees of the State Council (see answer to question 2.1 above) for specific products or services, there can be a fine up to EUR 1,500 for a natural person (EUR 4,500 for a legal entity). The amount is doubled in cases of repeated infringements.
If an offence of deceit or falsification is committed, criminal proceedings can lead to a fine of up to EUR 300,000 and a prison sentence of up to two years (the amount is increased in cases of threat to human or animal health or in the event of a group offence). The decisions taken by the DGCCRF can also be published.
Contractual remedies. Several contractual remedies, such as damages, may also be imposed. In most cases, there is a choice between the repair or the replacement of the good or service, a reduction of the price or the termination of the contract. Depending on whether the buyer chooses to rely on the Civil Code or the Consumer Code, there is a difference in the remedies available. If he relies on consumer law, the buyer may only ask in the first place for the repair or the replacement of the goods. If these two remedies are not available, the consumer may then ask for a price reduction or the termination of the contract. However, if the buyer chooses to rely on the Civil Code, more options are available. For instance, when applying the guarantee for hidden defects (“vices cachés”) under Article 1641 of the Civil Code, the buyer can choose between returning the product or service purchased in exchange for the restitution of the price paid, and keeping the product or service in exchange for the restitution of part of the price.
In case of mistake or misrepresentation, the contract may also be void or voidable (Art. 1130 of the Civil Code).
Limitations. Proceedings under the Consumer Code have to be initiated two years from the delivery of the goods (Art. L. 217-12 of the Consumer Code), with the exception of the offences of deceit and falsification which are subject to a six-year limitation period. However, proceedings on the basis of the Civil Code are subject to a longer five-year limitation period and in practice, numerous claims use civil law.
Proceedings may be initiated either by the buyer, the public ministry or by the DGCCRF (see answer to question 1.4 above) in accordance with Article L. 511-1 of the Consumer Code. The DGCCRF will conduct reviews periodically (e.g. annual investigations for biocidal products and detergents) or through large-scale investigations. The results of investigations are available on the DGCCRF’s website.
The buyer may initiate both criminal and civil proceedings against both the final seller and the manufacturer or intermediary seller. When suing the manufacturer, the consumer is using the action the first buyer (e.g. importer, wholesaler, retailer) had on the manufacturer (“action récursoire”). Therefore, if he sues the manufacturer or intermediary seller using this action, the consumer cannot use the Consumer Code’s provisions but may rely on the Civil Code and the Commercial Code.
Private enforcement. The Cour de Cassation ruled in 2018 that the existence of little white spots on a car when the buyer has specifically asked for the car to be polished constitutes a breach of the contractual duty of conformity. The Cour de Cassation confirms that the contract should be terminated, the car given back to the seller and that the buyer should be granted around EUR 11,500 in damages (Cour de Cassation, 24 October 2018, No 17-20778) under consumer law.
Public enforcement. In 2018, the DGCCRF conducted investigations on eight marketplaces (e.g. Amazon, Ebay, Cdiscount, Aliexpress) and analysed 152 products. Its report established that 43% of the products were dangerous and 24% did not comply with existing legal requirements. In response to the DGCCRF’s warnings and/or injunctions, most marketplaces have already removed the products in question from their websites.
More recently, in December 2019, the DGCCRF released the results of its investigations into foie gras sold on the French market. It found that there was a non-conformity rate of 54%. Twelve warnings and six injunctions were issued, and four sets of criminal proceedings are currently ongoing. The exact amount of the fines imposed by the DGCCRF is usually not public since the proceedings often lead to settlements.
Under French law, the safety of goods and services is governed by a number of legal provisions. Art. L. 421-3 of the Consumer Code imposes on professionals (manufacturers or distributors) a general duty of safety and states that “products and services must, under normal conditions of use or under other circumstances that may reasonably be foreseen by the professional, offer the safety that can legitimately be expected and must not be a danger to public health”.
This duty applies to the professional liable for the product’s safety, which can be the actual manufacturer, its representative, another person whose activities may impact product safety or another distributor.
In order to satisfy this duty, professionals have to inform, control and report on any risks related to the products and services that they offer. For example, they have to conduct the relevant safety tests and recall the product if necessary. They also have to keep records of all relevant documents.
Governmental bodies (e.g. DGCCRF or the Minister in charge of consumer protection) may also prohibit or restrict the sales of dangerous products. Additionally, more specific safety requirements have been enacted for specific types of product (e.g. fresh food, medicine, cars).
Businesses may also be liable on the basis of criminal, contract or tort law:
Firstly, a business may be held liable, for instance, for manslaughter (Art. 221-6 of the Criminal Code) or battery (Art. 222-19 of the Criminal Code) when the use of the product has led to death or injury.
Secondly, there is a contractual duty to inform the consumer of the characteristics and risks associated with a product or a service and case-law has often recognised the existence of an implied duty of safety in given contracts (e.g. transport, sports).
Thirdly, the Civil Code holds manufacturers (or the intermediary seller) liable for defective products (Art. 1245 of the Civil Code). In specific cases, businesses have also been recognised as liable because of fault or negligence (Art. 1240 of the Civil Code) or because of the doing of a thing under its control (Art. 1242 of the Civil Code).
A product is considered compliant with the general duty requirement if it complies with the relevant legal and regulatory framework on health and safety (Art. L. 421-5 of the Consumer Code).
A product is deemed to be compliant if it complies with the French non-mandatory regulations which implement European regulations on product safety (Art. L. 421-6 of the Consumer Code).
In other cases, numerous factors can be taken into account to assess whether a product is compliant (Art. L. 421-7 of the Consumer Code):
non-mandatory French regulations implementing European norms;
other French regulations;
recommendations from the European Commission;
good practices guidelines;
the current state of (technical, scientific, etc.) knowledge; and
the level of safety that consumers can reasonably expect. The product is assessed under normal conditions of use.
Every product or service, if not subject to specific national or EU provisions on consumer health and safety, is subject to a general duty of safety. The scope of the general duty of safety is therefore wider in French than in European Law since Directive No 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 only applies to products designed for or used by consumers.
There is, however, an exception: if the seller has duly informed the buyer, this duty does not apply to antiquities and second-hand products which have to be repaired or restored before being used (Art. L. 421-2 of the Consumer Code).
Moreover, it is important to determine if there are specific laws and regulations which may impose additional safety requirements for specific types of product (e.g. medicines, toys, videogames, washing machines).
Administrative measures. When a product is deemed to be dangerous, administrative authorities may adopt all measures in order to remedy the threat (e.g. product recall or order destruction of the products). Their action has to be proportionate to the danger that the public is facing. Therefore, it is not possible to prohibit the distribution of a product when consumer information would be sufficient to prevent any threat or when it is possible to modify the product to make it compliant.
Fines. Non-compliance with the general duty of safety is punishable by a fine with a maximum of EUR 1,500 (EUR 7,500 for a legal entity). The amount is doubled in case of repeated infringements during one year. If there are no ongoing criminal proceedings, the DGCCRF may also reach a settlement with the professional.
The infringement of a duty to inform the relevant administrative authorities of the measures taken to prevent consumer harm can lead to the same level of fines.
Non-compliance with the duty to establish and keep a record of all products which have been recalled (Art. L. 452-7 of the Consumer Code) can lead to a EUR 5,000 fine (EUR 25,000 for legal entities).
Not declaring a product safety recall procedure or giving false or incomplete information (Art. R. 452-5 of the Consumer Code) can lead to a fine of up to EUR 1,500 (EUR 7,500 for legal entities). The amount is doubled in case of repeated infringements during one year.
There are specific penalties (imprisonment, fines) if the offences of manslaughter and battery are committed.
Damages. The undertaking may be held liable for the harm the consumers have suffered and may have to remedy their losses under either contract or tort law.
If a manufacturer or a distributor discovers that a product does not satisfy the general duty of safety, he has a duty to immediately inform the competent administrative authority and consumers (Art. L. 423-3 of the Consumer Code). A governmental order dated 9 September 2004 describes the information which has to be given to the administration.
The relevant administrative authorities depend on the type of products concerned:
DGCCRF: food for human consumption, food for animal consumption (except for the products for which the Directorate General for Food (Direction Générale de l’Alimentation, “DGAL”) is competent), products to be sold or given to consumers, cars (except for the products for which the Directorate General for Energy and Climate Change (Direction Générale de l’Energie et du Climat, “DGEC”) is competent);
DGAL: meat for human consumption, canned products, and food for animal consumption composed of or containing meat; and
DGEC: cars (under Art. R. 321-14-1 of the Highway Code).
The manufacturer or the distributor cannot argue that he was not aware of risks that he should reasonably have known.
Non-food products can be subject to a mandatory product safety recall regime. Where a risk is identified, a professional has to report it to administrative authorities and take measures to prevent any consumer harm (Art. L. 423-2 of the Consumer Code).
Food is subject to a specific mandatory safety recall regime under Articles 19 and 20 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of 28 January 2002.
There are also specific product safety recall regimes for given products, such as medicines. For instance, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Médicaments et des Produits de Santé, “ANSM”) can impose injunctions to remove the medicine from the market or even destroy it if the product represents a threat for public health.
The concerned undertaking, in cases of threats to public health and safety, has to initiate an immediate recall procedure without waiting for the administrative authorities’ injunctions. Businesses may report such an issue on the administration’s website.
Private enforcement. The “Mediator” or Benfluorex case has led to the introduction of numerous proceedings before the French courts, including against the French State, for how it managed the crisis. The Mediator was a medicine designed to improve glycaemic control and decrease insulin resistance, but it emerged that it also caused heart diseases. The product has since been withdrawn from the French market and individual private actions have been initiated against the pharmaceutical company Servier, its manufacturer. In a 2017 case (Cour de Cassation, 20 September 2017, No 16-19643), the Cour de Cassation ruled that Servier could not use the risk of development defence and that it was liable under Article 1245 of the Civil Code which imposes tort liability on the manufacturer having sold a defective product.
Public enforcement. The DGCCRF regularly conducts large-scale investigations. In 2018, it investigated the compliance of a number of toys on the French market. In its report, it stated that it had investigated 3,400 businesses and found that 16% of the products were dangerous. In total, 834 warnings were issued, as well as 32 injunctions and 274,000 toys were either repaired or destroyed.
The French Parliament has also passed bills for specific products deemed to be dangerous. For instance, in 2010 and 2012, it passed bills to forbid the use of Bisphenol A (“BPA”) from 2015 (see Law No 2010-729 of 30 June 2010 and Law No 2012-1442 of 24 December 2012).
French consumer law, implementing Directive No 2005/29/EC of 11 May 2005, prohibits unfair commercial practices (“UCP”) (“pratiques commerciales déloyales”, Art. L. 121-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code). UCP may constitute offences in themselves but they also refer to the prohibition of deceptive commercial practices (“pratiques commerciales trompeuses”, Art. L. 121-2 et seq. of the Consumer Code) and aggressive commercial practices (“pratiques commerciales agressives”, Art. L. 121-6 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
The scope of this prohibition is wide since there is no legislative or regulatory definition of the concept of “commercial practice” under French law. The case law refers to Article 2(d) of the Directive, which covers any act or omission committed by a professional and linked to its commercial activities. Article L. 121-2 of the Consumer Code, which refers to practices by omission, may concern an infringement of pre-contractual information obligations, which is also referred to in Article L. 111-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code.
In addition, the Consumer Code prohibits abuses of weakness, which includes a professional abusing a person’s weakness or ignorance in order to induce him or her, by means of doorstep selling, phone solicitations, etc., to commit to something in cash or on credit in any form whatsoever (Art. L. 121-8 to L. 121-10 of the Consumer Code). A similar behaviour is sanctioned by the Criminal Code (Art. L. 223-15-2 to 223-15-4 of the Criminal Code).
A commercial practice is deemed to be unfair when it does not meet the standard of professional diligence or when it substantially alters the consumers’ economic behaviour (Art. L. 121-1 of the Consumer Code). The effect on consumers is assessed with respect to a consumer who is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant, that is, the “average” consumer.
As mentioned above, disloyal practices include both misleading or deceptive conduct and aggressive practices. To constitute an infringement, misleading or deceptive conduct may be directed against consumers, professionals or non-professionals and implemented, or with effects, in France. It has to be misleading in the meaning of Articles L. 121-2 and L.121-3 of the Consumer Code, which establishes a list of the elements which can be used to characterise the conduct, but it also needs to materially distort or be likely to distort the economic behaviour of the consumer. The conduct may deceive the consumer either by action (e.g. false information, deceiving marketing strategy) or by omission (e.g. silence kept on key information). Some practices are presumed to be misleading in any context (Art. L. 121-4 of the Consumer Code), the list of which can be found in the Consumer Code.
For a practice to be sanctioned as aggressive, it has to be the result of repeated solicitations or the use of physical or moral constraints imposed on consumers (Art. L. 121-6 of the Consumer Code), which either leads to the substantial modification of the consumer’s freedom of choice, the vitiating of the consumer’s consent, or the restriction of the use of contractual rights. In addition to this, consideration can be given to the circumstances surrounding the practice, such as the time and place where the practice was conducted or the use of threats. A list of presumed aggressive commercial practices can be found in the Consumer Code (Art. L. 122-11 of the Consumer Code).
In addition to this, establishing intent is in theory necessary since both misleading and aggressive practices may lead to the imposition of a criminal penalty (Art. 121-3 of the Criminal Code). However, in practice, this requirement has been subject to a flexible interpretation by case law when the professional is merely aware of the practice (Cour de Cassation, 29 January 2019, No 17-86876).
Abuses of weakness are sanctioned as long as the circumstances of the case show that the victim was not able to appreciate the extent of the commitments being taken, or to detect the rules or tricks used to convince them to subscribe to them, or make it appear that they have been subjected to a constraint (Art. L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code) (which may be the case where the consumer is an elderly person, sick or in a state of intellectual weakness, this state being prior to the solicitation).
There are no exceptions or exemptions to these prohibitions.
Remedies available for a breach of the protection/prohibitions relating to the aforementioned conduct slightly differ because of the specificities of their legal regimes.
First, disloyal commercial practices may be remedied and terminated on the initiative of the agents of the DGCCRF or the civil court on request of the DGCCRF. There is no specific criminal penalty in the Consumer Code for these practices. However, it is still possible for a consumer to seek damages on the basis of the general provisions on extra-contractual liability of the French Civil Code (Article 1240 of the Civil Code).
Second, misleading commercial practices (Art. L. 132-2 of the Consumer Code) may be subject to a cease and desist order from both criminal and civil judges but also by the agents of the DGCCRF. Such practices are then likely to be subject to compensation for damages on the basis of the general provisions on extra-contractual liability of the French Civil Code (Art. 1240 of the Civil Code) but also to be criminally sanctioned by a two-year prison sentence and a EUR 300,000 fine (EUR 1,500,000 for a legal entity). The amount of the penalty can also amount to 10% of the annual turnover of the undertaking, calculated on the basis on the last three known years, or 50% of the expenses used to commit the offence. It shall be added that before any public action is taken, the conduct may also be terminated by means of a settlement with the DGCCRF.
Third, aggressive commercial practices (Art. L. 132-11 of the Consumer Code) may also be subject to a two-year prison sentence and a EUR 300,000 penalty (EUR 1,500,000 for a legal entity) may be imposed. The amount of the fine can also amount to 10% of the annual turnover of the undertaking, calculated on the basis on the last three known years. In addition, where the aggressive conduct leads to the conclusion of a contract, the sanction of the practice is the automatic nullity of the contract (Art. L. 132-10 of the Consumer Code).
The decision, as well as corrective announcements, can be published at the professional’s expense.
Fourth, abuses of weakness are sanctioned in the conditions of Article L. 511-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code (see answer to question 3.7 below) but are also subject to criminal sanctions (EUR 375,000 and three years’ imprisonment for natural persons and EUR 1,875,000 for a legal entity (Art. L. 132-14 and L. 132-13 of the Consumer Code)). Where the abuse results in a contract, the latter is void (Art. L. 132-13 of the Consumer Code). Such abuses may also be sanctioned under the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code (Art. 223-15-2 of the Criminal Code).
For all of the practices mentioned above, additional criminal penalties are also available (e.g. interdiction to have a commercial activity) for both types of practices.
Private enforcement. The following examples may be provided:
A legaltech company named Jurysystem used the term “lawyer” in a misleading way, leading consumers to believe that they were communicating with accredited lawyers. The French National Bar Association sued the company for misleading commercial practice. As a result, the court granted an injunction to stop the infringing behaviour (Cour de Cassation, 11 May 2017, No 16-13669).
The Cour de Cassation ruled that selling a product containing no Botox-related component under the tag “alternative to Botox injections” is misleading and deceptive. Therefore, the Cour de Cassation confirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision which granted injunctions to stop such sales, and around EUR 20,000 in damages for counterfeiting Botox products and using deceptive means of competition (Cour de Cassation, 30 March 2016, No 13-12122).
The Poitiers Court of Appeal fined a company EUR 2,500 in damages for making a consumer sign a large number of purchase orders, following repeated and insistent solicitations resulting from intensive canvassing at home (aggressive commercial practice) (Court of Appeal of Poitiers, 31 October 2017, No 13/12129).
Public enforcement. The DGCCRF conducted regular investigations and, in January 2020, it published the results of its investigations on 571 gym and fitness centres. It found that a number of misleading and deceptive practices were being used. In total, the consumer authority issued 361 corrective measures, six criminal fines, and 24 administrative sanctions.
There are numerous provisions designed to enhance consumer protection in French law.
Specific rules exist regarding advertising. For instance, comparative advertising, i.e. when the professional is comparing products or services in order to promote his own product or service, must comply with a specific legal framework (Art. L. 122-1 of the Consumer Code). Specific and sensitive sectors are also subject to specific regulatory provisions on advertisement and marketing (e.g. tobacco, medicine).
A large number of rules contained in various sources also provide for a framework applying to the promotion of sales, such as discounts and rebates, sales or liquidation or the regulation of commercialisation techniques (e.g. distance contracts).
In addition to this, consumer contracts are subject to specific requirements. There is, for example, a rigorous pre-contractual duty of information imposed on the professional and a strict prohibition of abusive contractual terms (Art. L. 212-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code). Moreover, there are also contracts for which a specific legal framework has been set by the Consumer Code, such as consumer loans (Art. L. 311-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code) and mortgage loans (Art. L. 313-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
Aside from this, the Consumer Code also sets a specific legal framework for over-indebted consumers (Art. L. 711-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
As mentioned above, the scope of the other protections/prohibitions available under French law is very wide and covers numerous practices. For each of these practices, substantive and case law provide for specific conditions which have to be fulfilled for the practice to constitute an infringement.
Whilst the number of these practices and the conditions related to each of them is too wide for the purpose of this guide, some examples are set out below.
For instance, for comparative advertising not to constitute a breach of consumer law, the advert has to first compare products or services answering the same needs or fulfilling the same objectives. Secondly, the comparison must be objective and put essential, useful, verifiable and representative characteristics into perspective. Moreover, the advertising must not be misleading or deceptive. It must also not take undue advantage from the reputation of another product or service or create a confusion between distinct products or services. Finally, it must not discredit competitors and their products.
Regarding consumer loans, the legal framework set by the Consumer Code is complex and protective and contains, for instance, precise pre-contractual information, duties and a specific right of withdrawal.
There are no exceptions or exemptions to these provisions.
Criminal, administrative and civil law remedies are available depending on the prohibitions. As the scope of these prohibitions is very wide, they will not be considered in detail. As a general point, it is necessary to first define the infringement and relevant provisions in order to determine the available remedies.
For instance, as regards comparative advertising, the relevant remedies depend on whether the infringement constitutes a misleading or deceptive commercial practice (see answer to question 2.19 above) and/or an infringement of Intellectual Property rights (Art. L. 761-10 of the Intellectual Property Code).
Private enforcement. A supermarket was displaying a sign near its gas station comparing itself with competitors and claiming its own products were cheaper than its competitors’. In its judgment, the Orléans Court of Appeal ruled that the sign was illicit since the supermarket’s claim was not objective and could not in practice be verified. It confirmed the court of first instance’s injunction to stop the practice, granted the plaintiff EUR 80,000 in damages and ordered the Court’s decision to be published at the defendant’s expenses (Court of Appeal of Orléans, 26 September 2019, No 18/02781).
Public enforcement. In 2016 and 2017, the DGCCRF conducted an investigation into the conditions of renegotiations and resale of mortgage loans. It looked at 122 lenders or intermediaries and found that eight lenders did not comply with their legal obligations (e.g. regarding pre-contractual information). Eight warnings and two injunctions were therefore issued.
Depending on the nature of the infringement, the DGCCRF agents have either ordinary powers of investigation (Art. L. 512-5 to L. 512-50 of the Consumer Code), or coercive powers in the form of dawn raids carried out under judicial control (Art. L. 512-51 to L. 512-65 of the Consumer Code).
With regard to ordinary powers of investigation, the DGCCRF’s agents may operate in public spaces but also, from 8am to 8pm, in places used for professional purposes or places where a service is provided – including when the place is used for residential purposes. They may request the communication of documents of any nature, collect samples, and make a deposit of certain products pending the results of the necessary checks. They may also interview any person likely to provide information useful to their findings. Finally, where it is necessary to obtain evidence, the agents are authorised to hide their identity (including online) and disclose their status only at the time they inform the person being inspected of the finding of a breach (Art. L. 512-7 of the Consumer Code).
When such powers of investigation are not sufficient to collect evidence and in relation to certain infringements of consumer law (e.g. misleading commercial conduct, infringements related to comparative advertising, distance contracts, consumer credit, abuse of weakness), the DGCCRF may request authority from a judge in order to carry out dawn raids at one or more premises. In contrast to an ordinary investigation, the DGCCRF is then allowed to use coercive powers to seize documents or products, collect samples and interview individuals.
The conduct of an investigation may vary greatly depending on the circumstances of the case; therefore, there are no so-called “key steps” in a typical investigation. However, it is worth mentioning that before carrying out an investigation, the DGCCRF’s agents shall indicate to the person being investigated their identity, unless they are carrying out investigations undercover (Art. L. 512-7 of the Consumer Code). If the DGCCRF intends to carry out dawn raids or to penetrate against the will of the occupant a premise used for both professional and residential purposes, it shall beforehand obtain authority from a judge (Art. L. 512-6 and L. 512-52 et seq. of the Consumer Code). Following the investigation, the DGCCRF agents must keep minutes of the investigation (“procès-verbaux”). When the DGCCRF is not competent to issue a decision, the minutes shall be transferred to the public prosecutor who will him/herself decide on the outcome of the investigation.
Investigations may be triggered ex officio or by a complaint filed by a consumer, a professional or an association. Whistleblowing is unlikely to be used in relation to consumer law infringements – French law Sapin 2 restricts whistleblowing to cases of “serious and clear” violation of the law (Art. 6 of Law No 2016-1691 on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernisation of economic life) – and its utility would be limited since, when reporting a breach to the DGCCRF, the consumer may already require to stay anonymous vis-à-vis the reported professional.
Consumers and professionals may alert the DGCCRF in several ways: by emails, by phone, by physically going to the DGCCRF offices or by filling in an online questionnaire on the DGCCRF’s website.
In 2019, the DGCCRF also launched an app called “SignalConso” which enables consumers to alert on a large range of problems that may be encountered with a professional. The business concerned is then informed of the problem reported, but if the problem remains unresolved, is sufficiently serious or has been reported many times, the report may be transferred to the DGCCRF agents for investigation. However, following a report, there is no personalised follow-up as the alert is treated in a collective way.
The length of investigations largely depends on the type of infringement concerned and its complexity. It can range from a month to several years. The law does not impose a specific timeline for the conduct of an investigation but claims against the excessive length of time of investigations are rarely successful. In order to accelerate the procedure, a settlement is often offered by the DGCCRF agents, but the settlement procedure is available only under certain conditions and in relation to certain infringements of consumer law (see answer to question 3.6 below).
The Consumer Code provides for criminal penalties in case of obstruction of the conduct of an investigation by a DGCCRF agent. Any person guilty of obstruction may be sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of EUR 300,000 – which may amount to 10% of the average annual turnover in proportion to the benefits derived from the offence – as well as additional penalties, such as being banned from exercising the professional activity at issue (Articles L. 512-4 and L. 531-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
For instance, the French Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a person who failed to communicate the documents requested by the DGCCRF agents, despite three reminders, and who also provided incomplete documents (Cour de Cassation, 16 January 2018, No 17-80291).
Similarly, the French Supreme Court upheld a decision to sanction a farmer for the offence of obstructing DGCCRF agents in the performance of their duties since she had, for 50 minutes, prevented the agents from entering the livestock buildings, and only gave her agreement after they had notified her of their departure and established an offence report (Cour de Cassation, 18 January 2000, No 99-82406).
There is no competition law-style commitment procedure. The only case in which commitments may be relevant is where the DGCCRF offers the offender to settle. Indeed, as long as the public proceedings have not been initiated against the offender, the DGCCRF may resolve an investigation by proposing a transaction to the offender, in which they agree on the fine to be paid, the time limit for its payment and, if applicable, other obligations resulting from the acceptance of the settlement, such as behavioural commitments (Art. R. 523-2 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
Such transaction requires the agreement of the public prosecutor and may only take place in relation to certain consumer law infringements. They include, for instance, most offences sanctioned by a fine of less than EUR 3,000 (e.g. non-compliance with the general pre-contractual information obligation), some offences not punishable by a prison sentence (e.g. forced sales, infringements in relation to consumer credit) and misleading commercial practices (Art. L. 523-1 of the Consumer Code).
In the event the DGCCRF finds that consumer law rules have been infringed, three types of measures can be adopted by the DGCCRF: pedagogical measures; corrective measures; or sanctions.
Pedagogical measures are favoured by the DGCCRF when the breach found stems from a lack of knowledge of the relevant rules or negligence in their application. In such case, the DGCCRF sends a warning to the professional concerned to inform it of the observation made and then checks the adoption of compliance measures by it in the months that follow.
Corrective measures aim to get the professional to comply with the regulation in force more quickly. They are of several types, including:
Administrative police measures adopted by the DGCCRF, in particular to order the professional to adopt measures necessary to comply with consumer law rules, to cease any unlawful conduct or to remove any unlawful or abusive clause within a set reasonable time limit (Art. L. 521-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code). Order decisions adopted by the DGCCRF against a professional may be published at the latter’s expense (Art. L. 521-2 of the Consumer Code).
Such decisions may only be issued after an adversarial procedure initiated before the DGCCRF.
In the event of failure to comply with the DGCCRF’s injunction, the professional may in certain cases be subject to an administrative fine or a criminal penalty.
It should also be noted that the Consumer Code provides for other specific types of administrative police measures applicable to products which do not comply with the regulation in force or are dangerous to public health or consumer safety (Art. L. 521-5 et seq. of the Consumer Code) or to the provision of services (Art. L. 521-19 et seq. of the Consumer Code).
Summonses filed by the DGCCRF before civil courts (or administrative court – although this is rare in practice) in order to ask the relevant judge to order a professional to cease any infringement or unlawful conduct or to remove any unlawful, prohibited or abusive clause, under a periodic penalty payment where appropriate.
Repressive measures are reserved to cases where the infringement is particularly serious and could be of distinct nature, depending on the type of infringement:
Administrative sanctions may be imposed directly by the DGCCRF against a professional. Administrative fines are issued either in case of infringement to obligations laid down by the Consumer Code or in case of failure to comply with a DGCCRF’s injunction relating to such infringement (Art. L 522-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code). Decisions imposing administrative fines may be published at the company’s expense (Art. L. 522-6 of the Consumer Code).
Such decisions may only be issued after an adversarial procedure initiated before the DGCCRF, during which the professional concerned may have access to the file, be assisted by a counsel of its own choice and submit written or oral observations within a 60-day time limit (Art. L. 522-5 of the Consumer Code). When this period has expired, the DGCCRF may adopt an administrative fine through a reasoned decision (Art. L. 522-5 of the Consumer Code).
Where the same professional has had several administrative fines imposed on it for different infringements to consumer law rules, these penalties may be enforced cumulatively (Art. L. 522-7 of the Consumer Code).
The DGCCRF may ask a civil or commercial court – through the Minister for Economic Affairs – to impose a civil fine on the professional concerned.
The DGCCRF may request a public prosecutor before a criminal court to prosecute and impose a criminal penalty (i.e. a fine or imprisonment) to a professional, by sending him an inspection report (“procès-verbal de constatation d’infraction”).
In the event that no criminal proceedings are initiated by the public prosecutor, the DGCCRF may also ask the latter for its approval to offer the professional concerned a settlement within three months from the establishment of the inspection report – it being specified that such settlement may only be offered for minor offences (“contraventions”) and intermediate offences (“délits”) which are not punished by imprisonment (Art. L. 523-1 of the Consumer Code). If the public prosecutor approves the settlement proposal, the DGCCRF notifies it to the professional, which then has one month to accept it.
The DGCCRF’s action to impose administrative sanctions is subject to a limitation period, the duration of which varies according to the seriousness of the breach committed:
If the administrative fine incurred for the infringement concerned does not exceed EUR 3,000 for a natural person or EUR 15,000 for a legal person, the DGCCRF has one year from the date on which the breach or infringement was committed to take action (Art. L. 522-3 of the Consumer Code).
If the amount of the administrative fine incurred exceeds the thresholds indicated above, the limitation period within which the DGCCRF may act is three years from the date on which the infringement was committed (Art. L. 522-2 of the Consumer Code). If the DGCCRF has not taken any measure aiming at investigating, finding or punishing an offence within the abovementioned time limit, no further action can be initiated.
The initiation of civil or criminal proceedings by the DGCCRF is also bound by limitation periods. It this respect, it should be noted that:
For civil actions, the usual limitation period is five years from the day on which the plaintiff knew or should have known of the facts of the infringement (Art. 2224 of the Civil Code).
For criminal actions, the starting point of the limitation period always begins to run from the day on which the infringement is committed. However, its duration depends on the nature of the infringement and is as follows: one year for minor offences (“contraventions”); or six years for intermediate offences (“délits”) (Art. 8 and 9 of the Criminal Procedure Code). It should in addition be specified that according to Article 40 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the DGCCRF must inform the public prosecutor of any offence without delay, by providing him all relevant information, reports or acts.
The DGCCRF may directly implement three kinds of enforcement powers:
Warnings sent to professionals, notably to inform of the fact that practices may be non-compliant with consumer law rules (pedagogical measures).
Administrative policing measures, the purpose of which is to obtain from the professional compliance with the regulation in force within a set reasonable time limit (corrective measures).
Administrative sanctions, the purpose of which is to sanction an infringement to consumer law rules (repressive measures).
Besides such powers, the DGCCRF may also initiate civil or criminal proceedings against a non-compliant professional, without adopting a sanction decision itself.
For more details on the tools available to the DGCCRF, please refer to the answer to question 3.7 above.
In order to determine which power to use, the DGCCRF may consider two issues:
Which type of infringement has been committed?
In consumer law, each type of obligation is defined by a specific rule of law which sets out the nature of the sanction(s) incurred in the event of an infringement. Therefore, enforcement tools/powers to be implemented by the DGCCRF may be determined according to the characteristics of an infringement provided for by the relevant rule of law (e.g. where an infringement may be sanctioned by a criminal fine or imprisonment, criminal courts have jurisdiction).
Which action should be taken in response to the infringement: a pedagogical measure, a corrective measure or a repressive measure?
When the DGCCRF has a choice between several enforcement powers/tools following the first step described above, it may analyse the specific circumstances of the case at stake, in order adopt the most appropriate measures with respect to the seriousness of the infringement (e.g. lack of knowledge of the rules, negligence in the application of the rules, wilful violation of the rules).
For a description of rules and procedures that must be followed for each enforcement tool/power, please refer to the answer to question 3.7 above.
Actions for damages in relation to consumer law infringements may be initiated irrespective of whether the DGCCRF or a civil, administrative or criminal court issued a decision establishing the existence of such infringement.
Consumer disputes may be of a civil or criminal nature.
Consumer disputes may be initiated before civil or criminal courts (the court with material jurisdiction being determined on the basis of the infringement concerned: minor offence (“contraventions”) or intermediate offence (“délits”)). From the consumer point of view, the main interest of initiating criminal proceedings instead of civil ones lies in the fact that the burden of proof will lie on the public prosecutor. In any event, it should be mentioned that whatever the nature of the court having jurisdiction, the judge presiding over a consumer dispute may ex officio find that there had been an infringement to a provision laid down by the Consumer Code, even if such provision is not of public policy.
Furthermore, actions for damages may take the form of individual or collective actions.
More specifically, collective actions may only be initiated by an association which has been approved in view of the fact that its purpose is notably to defend the interests of consumers.
Such an association is entitled to bring two types of actions:
Actions to protect the collective interest of consumers: damages actions for the collective loss suffered by consumers may be brought by an approved association before criminal courts (Art. L. 621-1 of the Consumer Code) or civil courts (in such case, the action initiated by the association must be joint with that of one or more consumers – Art. L 621-9 of the Consumer Code).
Actions to protect the individual interest of consumers: such actions may notably take the form of: (i) a joint representation action by which an association is mandated by at least two consumers who have suffered damages caused by the same professional and having a common origin (Art. L. 622-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code); or (ii) a group action, by which an association may, without any mandate, act in order to obtain damages for consumers having suffered the same loss by constituting a group, to which other consumers concerned by the loss may adhere (Art. L. 623-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code). While a joint representation action may be initiated before any court, a group action may only be filed before a specific civil court, namely the Tribunal Judiciaire.
Finally, it should be mentioned that in the area of consumer law, there are extrajudicial mechanisms for settling disputes, such as mediation.
Damages actions for infringements to consumer law are time-barred in accordance with statutory limitation periods applicable to the case at stake, depending on the nature of the action (civil or criminal). In that respect, please refer to the answer to question 3.8 above.
However, it must be specified that the initiation of a group action suspends the limitation period applicable to individual damages actions.
In addition, specific limitation periods exist for certain infringements to consumer law rules (for instance, actions for a guarantee of conformity must be brought by the consumer within two years from the delivery of the goods by the professional, while the limitation period for bringing an action for personal injury is 10 years from the date of consolidation of the damage).
Through the DGCCRF, France is part of the European Consumer Protection Cooperation (“CPC”) network implemented by Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws, which has since been repealed by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394. This network aims at protecting the collective interests of consumers and putting an end to infringements by developing cooperation between national authorities in charge of the consumer protection via mutual assistance mechanisms and information exchange.
France is also a member of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (“ICPEN”), a network of different OECD countries. The purpose of such network is to share information about cross-border commercial activities that may affect consumer interests and to promote international cooperation and cooperation among national agencies in charge of consumer law rules enforcement. In this context, the ICPEN notably shares among its members best practices regarding key consumer protection laws and enforcement powers.
France has also sometimes concluded bilateral agreements allowing consumers to lodge a complaint with another country’s consumer protection authority.
The appeal process depends on the court or administration that took the decision.
When the DGCCRF issues a decision of sanction (i.e. an administrative sanction such as an injunction or a fine), there are two ways for the professional to contest the sanction. First, the professional may introduce an “administrative” appeal, which is dealt with internally. This appeal may be “for reconsideration” or “gracieux” (it is addressed directly to the person who took the decision) or may be hierarchical (it is addressed to the hierarchical superior of the person who took the decision). The DGCCRF’s website provides for an online form to fill in order to exercise this appeal, both “gracieux” or hierarchical. Second, the professional may choose to resort to a litigious appeal before the French administrative courts (“recours pour excès de pouvoir”). The professional can do so before the administrative court located within the jurisdiction of the establishment whose activity is at the origin of the dispute (Art. L. 211-1, R. 312-10 and R. 421-1 of the Administrative Justice Code).
The litigious appeal before an administrative court must be lodged within two months from the notification of the decision, but this time limit is suspended where the professional has also lodged an administrative appeal (i.e. appeal for reconsideration or hierarchical). Regarding the administrative appeal, there is no time limit unless the claimant intends to lodge a litigious appeal. In this case, the administrative appeal must be filed within the time limit required to file a litigious appeal, i.e. two months.
When the decision is adopted by a criminal court, the appeal proceeding follows the rules of criminal appeals (Art. 498 of the Criminal Procedure Code).
Finally, if the infringement has been invoked before a civil court, an appeal of the judgment can be brought following the civil proceeding rules (Art. 538 of the Civil Procedure Code).
In order to lodge a litigious appeal before an administrative court against a decision taken by the DGCCRF (so-called “recours pour excès de pouvoir”), the claimant must demonstrate an interest in taking legal action, a condition that would be met for the addressee of a decision of sanction. In the case of an appeal against a court judgment, only parties to the proceedings are authorised to appeal.
Appealing before administrative courts does not suspend the effect of the penalty. It is however possible to ask for a specific suspension in front of the interim measures administrative court (Art. L. 521-1 of the Administration Procedural Code) under a distinct procedure.
There is no specific provision related to consumer protection in order to suspend the effect of a decision before civil courts or criminal courts, where appeals are in principle suspensory (Art. 539 of the Civil Procedure Code and 708 of the Criminal Procedure Code).
There are no anticipated reforms within the next 12 months.
The authors would like to thank Hélène Fricaudet (helene.fricaudet@ashurst.com) and Adèle Azzi (adele.azzi@ashurst.com) for their invaluable contribution to this chapter.