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

Directive No 2005/29 on unfair commercial practices which refers to the consumer distinguishes between unfair commercial practices per se, 31 in total, which are listed in Annex I and commercial practices which can only be deemed unfair after prior examination in the light of the criteria laid down in Articles 5 to 9 of the directive . This full harmonization directive allows for no exceptions. Since lotteries are not specifically included in Annex I - even if the European courts qualified some lotteries as aggressive commercial practices  - the Court of Justice stated that the national regulations which provide for a prohibition in principle of lotteries subjecting the consumer's participation to the purchase of a certain quantity of goods or services, violates Union law .

Despite the reforms carried out by the Law of 17 May 2011  and the Hamon Law of 17 March 2014, the compatibility of French law with European law on commercial practices was questionable since the validity of advertising lotteries remained subject to compliance with certain formalities (entry form separate from the purchase order, deposit of rules with a bailiff, etc.). In addition, the Hamon Law, by authorizing in the new Article L. 121-36-1 of the Consumer Code the imposition of a participation fee on the consumer, provided that they are not surcharged, that they can be reimbursed on request and that the consumer is informed beforehand, made lotteries subject to new conditions of lawfulness contrary to Union law.

Since the entry into force of Law No 2014-1545 of 20 December 2014 on the simplification of business practices which reduced the section of the Consumer Code relating to advertising lotteries to Article L. 121-36 (now Article L. 121-20), French law has been brought into conformity with the Directive on unfair commercial practices.

 When it is not listed in Annex I, a commercial practice may only be condemned if it is misleading or aggressive or is of an unfair nature, in that it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence, and distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behavior, in relation to the product, of the average consumer whom it affects or to whom it is directed.

 Case C-428/11 Purely Creative Ltd, Judgment of 18 October 2012, LawLex201200002226JBJ, professional practices giving the false impression to the consumer that he has already won a prize, although the performance of an action in relation to the claim of this prize is subject to the obligation, for the consumer, to pay money or bear any cost to inquire about the prize or how to obtain it, even if the cost is negligible in relation to the value of the prize and even if the professional does not benefit from it.

 Case C-304/08 Zentrale zur Bekämpfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs eV, Judgment of 14 January 2010, LawLex201100000479JBJ.

 Law No 2011-525 of 17 May 2011 on the simplification and improvement of the quality of the law, OJ of 18 May 2011, 8537.

246. Compatibility with EU law