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

When the commercial practice takes the form of an advertisement, it implies, etymologically, a public dissemination of the message . The courts thus penalize any misleading commercial practice when the message that coveys it makes it easily accessible due to its mode of dissemination. The fact that an advertisement is displayed inside a public place does not exempt the trader from liability, when  …

 Prior public dissemination of the message

When the commercial practice takes the form of an advertisement, it implies, etymologically, a public dissemination of the message . The courts thus penalize any misleading commercial practice when the message that coveys it makes it easily accessible due to its mode of dissemination. The fact that an advertisement is displayed inside a public place does not exempt the trader from liability, when this place can be freely accessed . The same applies for a brochure containing information on beauty treatments, that can be freely accessed in the waiting room of a salon open to the public .

More generally, since the purpose of the commercial practice is to initiate the act of buying, it should in principle chronologically precede this act. In fact, the Court of Cassation considers that although a purchase order can be the medium of misleading advertising, this is not the case when it is issued after the conclusion of the contract . Information that was only made available to the buyer after delivery of the goods cannot constitute misleading advertising : a user guide attached to the purchased product cannot be regarded as an advertising document designed to trigger the consumer's act of purchase, as this act has already been performed . Nevertheless, within the framework of a sale with a trial period, the user guide may be of an advertising nature, even if it was only delivered to the customer after the product was sent, as the sale is not yet final . More recently, the Court of Cassation held that a user guide constitutes misleading advertising even if, by definition, it can only be read after the product has been purchased and unpacked .

  T. com. Paris, 10 February 2006, LawLex200600001788JBJ: when the brochure containing misleading claims was the subject of a public dissemination, the misled consumers are not required to provide proof of physical possession of said documents.

 Cass. crim., 28 November 1991, LawLex200300003465JBJ.

  Cass. crim., 15 November 2005, LawLex200600000210JBJ.

  Cass. crim., 31 January 1989, LawLex200300003293JBJ.

  CA Grenoble, 18 November 1999, LawLex200400000726JBJ

  CA Paris, 25 June 2013, LawLex201300001056JBJ.

  Cass. crim., 28 May 1997, LawLex200300003746JBJ, upholding CA Paris, 16 April 1996, LawLex200300002520JBJ.

  Cass. crim., 15 May 2012, LawLex201200001030JBJ.

French Consumer Law

134. Prior public dissemination of the message

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

134. Prior public dissemination of the message

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise