French Consumer Law is a comprehensive and comparative overview of French and EU law in this field, covering: advertising, unfair commercial practices, conditions for the validity of contracts, unfair terms, product conformity, latent defects, product safety.

French Consumer Law

Articles L. 421-1 et seq. (formerly Article L. 221-1 s.) of the Consumer Code encourages traders to ensure, upstream, the safety of products and services they offer for sale, but are also intended to allow the public authorities to verify compliance with this obligation and to take the necessary measures if the safety of consumers is at risk.
At the national level, the mission to ensure the safety …

Composition and role 

Articles L. 421-1 et seq. (formerly Article L. 221-1 s.) of the Consumer Code encourages traders to ensure, upstream, the safety of products and services they offer for sale, but are also intended to allow the public authorities to verify compliance with this obligation and to take the necessary measures if the safety of consumers is at risk.

At the national level, the mission to ensure the safety of consumers falls to the Consumer Safety Commission, which is an independent administrative authority (autorité administrative indépendante or AAI) . It makes general checks  on all products or services proposed to the public. However, control of the safety for certain products (drugs and cosmetics, food products, etc.) or sectors is entrusted to specialized agencies . 

The Consumer Safety Commission is composed of a president, appointed by decree of the Council of Ministers, and fifteen members appointed by order of the Minister for Consumer Affairs after receiving the opinion of interested Ministers . The members of the Commission are persons taken from administrative or judicial roles, trade organizations and national consumers associations, and experts. A government commissioner (commissaire du Gouvernement) appointed by the Minister for Consumer Affairs  also sits on the Commission and may, after a deliberation, demand a second deliberation within a period of four days.

By virtue of Article L. 822-8 (formerly L. 534-6), the Commission may consider situations of its own motion or on application by any natural or legal person who must state reason for such application by presenting the facts and evidence at its disposal. It is responsible for issuing opinions, particularly prior to the taking of any remedial or prohibitive measures relating to the placing on the market of products not meeting the requirements of Article L. 421-3 are taken by decree on the basis of Article  L. 412-1 and for proposing to the public authorities and to professionals any measure likely to improve risk prevention in matters of safety of products or services.

It may also be consulted by the competent courts at any stage of the proceedings. The Commission seeks out and identifies information from all available sources on the dangers relating to products and services. Its role is to inform the public, the media and the leaders of opinion by publishing press releases and a newsletter and by participating in prevention campaigns.

The Commission has powers of investigation to gather the information necessary for the accomplishment of its mission. It may receive any information, or carry out on-the-spot examinations of any documents it considers pertinent . In addition, the President of the Commission may, by reasoned decision, summon or arrange for its members to summon any person likely to provide information concerning cases under examination . As the Commission has only a consultative power, the fact that its proposals are made public does not, however, render tem subject to an action against it. However, in two judgments of 21 March 2016 , the Council of State declared itself competent to rule on certain acts of soft law emanating from two other independent administrative authorities; we cannot therefore exclude the possibility that it may, in the future, also rule on opinions of the Consumer Safety Commission. 

Having regard to the objectives of the protection of public health and consumer safety pursued by the legislature, and in the absence of express statutory provisions to the contrary, opinions rendered by the Commission do not entitle persons who manufacture or distribute products that could present a danger to public health or the safety of consumers to compensation, unless a “fault” has been committed by it . 

 See report Parliamentary Office for Legislation Assessment report on AAIs, 2006.

 CAA Paris, 15 May 1997, LawLex200300003111JBJ, holding that the jurisdiction of the Consumer Safety Commission for issuing opinions and propose any measure likely to improve risk prevention in respect of the safety of products and services is exclusive of all issues relating to products and services subject to specific legislative provisions or European regulations having as their object the protection of health.

 There are other more specialized agencies: the Agence nationale de la sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM) - National Agency for Safety of Medicines and Health Products: Art. L. 5311-1 et seq. Public Health Code, see e.g. Cons. d'Ét., 7 July 2010, LawLex201600000706JBJ, specifying that the Director General of the ANSM may not suspend any marketing authorization for a medicinal product unless urgent action is required to protect public health; 23 July 2014, LawLex201600000781JBJ: annulment of the decision classifying  fresh leucocyte depleted frozen plasma viro-attenuated by solvent-detergent with labile blood products, whereas it is a medicine; 4 November 2015, LawLex201600000707JBJ, holding that whtening hydrogen-peroxide based products constitute cosmetic products which are not regulated by the provisions on medicine, and that the DG of the ANSM is therefore entitled to suspend the marketing, distribution, export, import, production, possession with a view to selling or free distribution and use of such products placed on the market as medicines until they are brought in line with the regulations on cosmetic products; l'Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation de l'environnement et du travail (ANSET) - Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety: Art. L. 1313-1 et seq. Public Health Code: e.g. Cons. d'Ét., 11 February 2011, LawLex201600000780JBJ, holding that the principle of impartiality also applies to the Agency as it does to other independent administrative authorities; Comité national de santé publique - National Committee of Public Health: Art. L. 1413-1 et seq. Public Health Code.

 Law No 2017-203 of 21 February 2017 ratifying the Ordinances No 2016-301 of 14 March 2016 relating to the legislative part of the Consumer Code and No 2016-351 of 25 March 2016 on consumer credit agreements relative to residential real estate and simplifying the mechanism for implementing compliance and security obligations for products and services (OJ No 45 of 22 February 2017) has repealed Article L. 422-2 (former Article L. 221-3) of the Consumer Code, which applied specifically to product safety, while reproducing its content in Article L. 412- 1 which, formerly only applicable to product compliance, now targets product compliance and safety.

 Consumer Code, Art. L. 822-10 (formerly L. 534-9, al. 1).

 Consumer Code, Art. L. 822-10 (formerly L. 534-9, al. 2).

 Cons. d'Ét., 21 March 2016, LawLex201600000652JBJ and LawLex201600000653JBJ: opinions, recommendations, warnings and positions adopted by the regulatory authorities in the exercise of their missions may be referred to the court ruling on a claim that an action is ultra vires" when they are general and mandatory provisions or when they lay down individual directives which those authorities could subsequently sanction for non-compliance" or "are of a nature to produce significant effects, including economic, or have as their object to significantly influence the behavior of the persons to whom they are addressed". 

 Cons. d'Ét., 31 March 2003, LawLex200300002198JBJ.

French Consumer Law

9. Composition and role

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9. Composition and role

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