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

Article L. 621-1 (former Article L. 421-1) of the Consumer Code lays down the conditions that a consumer association must fulfill to bring legal proceedings: it must i) be duly registered, ii) have as its explicit statutory object the defense of the interests of consumers and iii) be authorized to exercise the rights conferred upon civil claimants in respect of matters directly, or indirectly, har …

Standing to bring proceedings

Article L. 621-1 (former Article L. 421-1) of the Consumer Code lays down the conditions that a consumer association must fulfill to bring legal proceedings: it must i) be duly registered, ii) have as its explicit statutory object the defense of the interests of consumers and iii) be authorized to exercise the rights conferred upon civil claimants in respect of matters directly, or indirectly, harming the collective interest of consumers.

As for any association subject to the Law of 1 July 1901, consumer associations must, to have legal capacity , be declared at the prefecture  and have published an extract of the registration in the Official Journal. As prior registration is necessary to obtain the authorization, the court cannot hold inadmissible the demand for an authorized association to bring a civil action in criminal proceedings on the grounds that it has not provided evidence of a declaration .

According to the Court of Cassation, a consumer association, even if not empowered by law, and in the absence of an express provision in its statutes regarding the use of legal action, may act in the name of collective interests, as long as those interests fall within its corporate object . The statutory object of the association must expressly refer to the defense of the interests of consumers . Thus, an association which, according to its statutes or its activity, is neither a trade association, a consumer association nor even an association empowered to bring legal action for the defense of collective interests, cannot bring a civil action in the collective interest of consumers . In contrast, an association with the object of defending and representing the general interests of households and families in their capacity as users and consumers of goods and services may intervene in actions by tenants for unfair services and maintenance charges . Legal action in the collective interest of consumers is also open to an authorized consumer association whose statutes cover not only the defense of consumers in the strict sense, but also the defense of its members in the area of housing, the use of public services and living conditions  , or an association whose object is not only the defense of tenants but also of the interests of consumers in general .

Article L. 621-1 requires that the association be authorized (paragraph 1), but waives the formality in respect of the organizations defined in Article L. 211-2 of the Social Action and Family Code, i.e. departmental federations and national unions of family associations (paragraph 2) . Authorization can only be given to associations not carrying out a business activity, with the exception of associations of consumer cooperative societies . 

Only associations representing consumers may obtain authorization . The latter must provide evidence, on the date of the application, of having been in existence for one year since making the declaration . Over the course of this year, they must have carried out an actual public activity for the defense of the interests of consumers, which is ascertained notably by taking account of the production and distribution of publications and the setting up of information meetings and hotlines. Finally, they must, by the date of the application, count at least 10,000 members for national associations, or a “sufficient” number of members having regard to the territorial framework of their activity for local, departmental or regional associations. The authorization can be withdrawn if the association ceases to meet any of these criteria, provided that it has been given the opportunity to submit its observations . 

Under Article R. 811-2 (formerly R. 411-2) of the Consumer Code, the authorization is issued on the advice of the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal of the jurisdiction in which the association has its head office. National associations are authorized by joint order of the Minister for Consumer Affairs and the Minister of Justice and published in the Official Journal. Local, departmental or regional associations are authorized by order of the Prefect of the département in which they have their head offices and are published in the report of administrative acts (Recueil des actes administratifs).

Can an authorization obtained by a national association be claimed in respect of a local branch which has not itself been granted authorization? The Court of Cassation says not . However, there is nothing to prevent the duly authorized national association from mandating its local branch to take legal action on its behalf . Furthermore, an action brought by an approved association may not be declared inadmissible merely because it concerns practices implemented in regional départements other than the one in which it was approved .

Authorization, which is granted for a period of five years, is renewable under the same conditions as the original authorization . Applications for authorizations and renewals are addressed to the Directorate for the protection of populations of the département in which the association has its head office . Information to be provided by applicants is laid down in Order of 21 June 1988, amended 10 December 1996 . 

Associations must issue an annual report of their activity (Article R. 811-6, previously 411-6). Each year three copies of the annual and financial report must be sent to the Departmental Directorate of Consumer Affairs, Competition and Fraud Repression to which the application was made (Order of 21 June 1988, Article 2).  

An association unable to prove its authorization is inadmissible to file a civil action in a criminal procedure , even if its statutory object is to defend and ensure the origin and the quality of products sold to consumers . In contrast, the courts have considered that civil action brought by an association, authorized after the commission of the facts at issue is admissible, if the authorization took place prior to the filing of the civil action and where the association had a legal existence on the date of the occurrence of the facts . Where an association amends its statutes, it must make a new application for authorization , except where the changes made do not affect its statutory object .

Law of 1 July 1901, Article 5: The declaration must provide “the title and the object of the association, the head office of its institutions and the names, professions and residences and nationalities of those who are, in any capacity, responsible for its administration”. A copy of the Statutes is joined to the declaration (...). The associations are required to make known, within three months, any changes in their administration, as well as any changes to their statutes.

Consumer Code, Article L. 811-2 (formerly L. 412-1).

Consumer Code, Article L. 811-1 (formerly L. 411-1).

Consumer Code, Article R. 811-1 (formerly 411-1).

Consumer Code, Article R. 811-7 (formerly 411-7).

Cass. 1re civ., 12 June 2012, LawLex201400000311JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 12 June 2012, LawLex201400000311JBJ; CA Rennes, 7 July 2011, LawLex201400000324JBJ. cf. CA Rennes, 4 December 2008, LawLex201400000333JBJ, declaring inadmissible an action filed by the local branch with the mandate of the national association, because it had acted in its own name and not as a representative.

Cass. crim., 25 June 2019, LawLex201900001202JBJ.

Under Article 3 of the Order of 21 June 1988, the application for renewal of the authorization must be filed in the eighth month preceding the date of expiry of the authorization in force, and be accompanied by a file containing an update of the documents filed in the initial application.

Consumer Code, Article R. 811-4 (formerly R. 411-4).

Order of 21 June 1988, Article 1: The file (...) is composed as follows: 1° An application for authorization signed by the Chair of the association. A note presenting the association and stating in particular the number of its members. This note may later be accompanied by a copy of all publications and texts intended for public dissemination written and published in the course of the last fiscal year and the current fiscal year. 2° a copy or a certified copy of the Official Journal containing the insertion (...) relative to the contract of association. An updated copy of the statutes. A list of the directors of the association (...). 3° The annual report and financial report approved at the last General Assembly (...). This file is established in triplicate (...).

Cass. 1re civ., 19 November 2009, LawLex201400000268JBJ.

Cass. crim., 26 May 1992, LawLex200400001325JBJ.

Cass. crim., 23 January 1992, LawLex200400001324JBJ. For an implicit rejection of that argument, see also Cass. 1re civ., 12 June 2012, LawLex201400000311JBJ.

Cass. crim., 5 February 1986, LawLex200400000291JBJ.

CA Montpellier, 4 November 2008, LawLex201400000323JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 20 October 2011, LawLex201400000260JBJ.

Cass. civ. 1re, 30 March 2022, LawLex202200001893JBJ, where no stipulation in the articles of association provides for a restriction on the geographical scope of action of the association, an action brought by such an association may be brought before any court with territorial jurisdiction.

CA Aix-en-Provence, 27 September 1995, LawLex200400001053JBJ; CA Montpellier, 7

Cass. crim., 7 December 1992, LawLex200200000346JBJ.

Cass. 3e civ., 10 March 1999, LawLex201400000290JBJ.

CA Rennes, 19 December 2003, LawLex200600001487JBJ.

CA Rennes, 11 December 2009, LawLex201400000284JBJ, admissibility of the action filed by of the National Housing Confederation (Confédération nationale du logement) in the travel domain.

Under Article L. 211-1 of the Code of Social Action and Families, "[the following] constitute family associations (...) associations (...) which have as their essential purpose the defense of the whole of the moral and material interests, either of all families, or to certain categories of families (...) For an example see Cass. crim., 23 September 1992, LawLex200300003472JBJ.

French Consumer Law

23. Standing to bring proceedings

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Les notions juridiques connexes

23. Standing to bring proceedings

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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