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

Product or service placement in cinematographic or audiovisual works is a relatively old technique (the first placement dates back to a film of 1919) which has proliferated and can be extremely lucrative for brands. It consists in obtaining the presentation, insertion or appearance of a product or service during the work in return for payment. Due to the significant number of audiovisual and cinematographic works carrying out product placement, the European legislator intervened to give this technique a legal framework that guarantees funding for the audiovisual sector.

Article 1(1)(m) of Directive No 2010/13 as amended defines product placement as “any form of audiovisual commercial communication consisting of the inclusion of or reference to a product, a service or the trade mark thereof so that it is featured within a program or a user-generated video in return for payment or for similar consideration”. In France, it is Arcom that determines the conditions in which programs can include product placement . In its decision of February 16, 2010  on product placement, Arcom only refers to “paid placement”, i.e. “the provision, formalized by a contract, of goods or services whose brand is identifiable in the program” . Arcom in fact recognizes the validity of the usual practice of lending clothes and accessories to television channels or film products, which is the subject of acknowledgements at the end of the credits , qualified as free placement by the directive .

Since its amendment by Directive No 2018/1808 of 14 November 2018 , Article 11(2) of Directive No 2010/13 allows product placement in all audiovisual media whereas previously it was subject to a general prohibition. By way of exception, product placement is still prohibited in news and current affairs programs, consumer affairs programs, religious programs and children's programs . Since the adoption of Law No 2021-1382 of 25 October 2021 on the regulation and protection of access to cultural works in the digital age , French law is in line with European law 10 , whereas the French authority  previously limited paid placement only to cinematographic works, audiovisual fictions and music videos, except when they are intended for children .

Like television advertisements, the placement of some products is strictly prohibited. The directive prohibits the placement of tobacco products or e-cigarettes and refill containers, as well as drugs or medical treatments subject to medical prescription , to which French Law adds firearms, ammunition and infant formula products. In addition, the products or services of the sponsor of a program may not be the subject of a placement in the program .

Programs that include product placement must meet a number of formal requirements laid down in a similar manner by Articles 11(3) of Directive No 2010/13 and 14-1 of Law No 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 :

a)	 their content and, in the case of television broadcasting, their scheduling shall in no circumstances be influenced in such a way as to affect the responsibility and editorial independence of the media service provider;

b)	 they must not directly encourage the purchase or rental of the goods or services, particularly by including specific promotional references to these goods or services;

c) 	they must not give undue prominence to the product in question.

In addition, product placement must also comply with the general requirements applicable to audiovisual communications. In order to avoid any confusion, viewers must be clearly informed of the existence of product placement. Programs containing product placement must be identified at the beginning and at the end of their dissemination, as well as after each advertising break. Also, for these programs, the CSA imposes the dissemination of a specific pictogram for one minute at the start of the broadcast and after each commercial break and during the entire broadcast of the credits , and for music videos, during the entire broadcast .

Finally, to ensure compliance with the regulations on product placement by the televisions channels, the CSA requires the producer and the advertiser to conclude a contract that defines their economic relationship and “providing for the obligation to inform the editor of the television service when product placement is carried out in a program produced, co-produced or pre-purchased by it”.

Product placement carried out in breach of the regulations is regarded as surreptitious advertising and is sanctioned as such by the CSA .

 Article 14-1 of Law 86-1067 of 30 September 1986, created by Law No 2010-4 of 5 March 2009.

 CSA Deliberation 2010-4 of 16 February 2010 on product placement in the programs of television services.

 For an example prior to the product placement regulation, see: CSA, 2 July 2002, LawLex200400000400JBJ.

See review of the application of the deliberation of February 16, 2010 on product placement in the programs of television services, available at: http://www.csa.fr/Etudes-et-publications/Les-comptes-rendus-et-les-bilans/ Les-comptes-rendus-et-les-bilans-des-televisions-et-des-radios-par-thematiques/Bilan-de-l- application-de-la-deliberation-du-16-fevrier-2010-relative-au-placement-de-produit-deux-ans- apres-l-autorisation-de-cette-pratique-dans-les-programmes-des-services-de-television.

Article 11(3)(b) of Directive No 2010/13. Recital 91 of the directive specifies that only the free provision of goods or services of significant value is considered to be product placement.

Article 11(1) specifies that it only applies to programs produced after 19 December 2009.

Law 86-1067, Art. 14-1: "The Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority [Arcom] sets the conditions under which the programs of audiovisual communication services, with the exception of news and current affairs programs, consumer programs, religious programs and children's programs, may include product placement.

The Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication shall ensure that programs containing product placement comply with the following requirements

1° Their content as well as their programming by television services or their organization in a catalog of on-demand audiovisual media services must in no case be influenced in such a way as to undermine the responsibility and editorial independence of the media service publisher;

2° They shall not directly encourage the purchase or rental of products or services of a third party and shall not, in particular, contain specific promotional references to such products or services;

3° They do not unjustifiably promote the product in question;

4° Viewers are clearly informed of the existence of product placement. Programs containing product placement shall be appropriately identified at the beginning and end of their broadcast, as well as when a program resumes after an advertising break, in order to avoid any confusion on the part of the viewer.

See Point IV of Deliberation 2010-4, cited above.

105. Product placement