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. 310-3 of the Commercial Code defines sales as sales “which are accompanied or preceded by advertising”, which announces a price reduction. Article R. 310-17 of the Commercial Code, which lays down the terms and conditions of this type of advertising, provides that “any advertisement relating to a sales operation indicates the start date and end date of the operation and the nature of th …

Advertising

Article L. 310-3 of the Commercial Code defines sales as sales “which are accompanied or preceded by advertising”, which announces a price reduction. Article R. 310-17 of the Commercial Code, which lays down the terms and conditions of this type of advertising, provides that “any advertisement relating to a sales operation indicates the start date and end date of the operation and the nature of the goods to which it relates, if it does not concern all of the products of the establishment”. Non-compliance with the requirements laid down in Article R. 310-17  is punishable by a fine of EUR 1,500 under fifth class infringements.

The courts interpret the concept of advertising for sales very broadly. The form of the advertisement - poster, advertisement in various media, prospectuses, etc. - is immaterial. The same applies to the extent of its dissemination and it is not necessary that the advertising offer be brought to the attention of all customers : it may consist of sending invitations to targeted customers  or personal invitations .

It is also not necessary that the term “sales” be expressly used for the operation to be subject to Article L. 310-3 of the Commercial Code . It is sufficient that the advertisement suggests the trader's desire to proceed with a rapid sale of its stocks. Thus, a “promotional” operation carried out by a ready-to-wear brand just before the legal sales period is indeed a sales operation, when the advertisements placed on the storefronts indicate price reductions “on marked products” . The same applies when the advertising states “everything must go”, or “hurry” , or “massive destocking” with significant price reductions . However, a single poster and three panels are insufficient to establish a sales operation in the absence of any details on the nature of the discounted items and the price policy applied for the items in question after the promotion period .

The regulations on price reduction announcements apply to advertisements announcing sales. They must therefore comply with the provisions of the Order of 11 March 2015 concerning the indication of the reference price which serves as the basis for the promotion . Products offered or available for retail sale in the form of sales must be marked with an indication showing that they are in the “sales” , unless the price reduction covers all the products available in the point of sale, in which case a perfectly legible indication may inform the consumer of this fact .

Finally, to avoid any confusion with the legal practice of sales, it is prohibited to use the word “sales” “in any advertising, corporate name, registered company name or trade name, [...] to designate any activity, registered company name, trade name, corporate name or feature which does not relate to a sales operation”, under penalty of a fine of EUR 15,000 (Article L. 310-3, II) .

 Commercial Code, Article R. 310-19, 4°.

  CA Douai, 10 November 2005, LawLex200600001519JBJ.

   CA Bordeaux, 3 June 2005, LawLex200600001511JBJ.

  TGI Paris, 12 June 1997, LawLex200300004219JBJ; TGI Paris, 21 January 1998, LawLex200300004218JBJ, for sending 5,000 personal invitations to a discount sale.

 Nevertheless, within the framework of lawful sales, and under Article A. 310-7 of the Commercial Code, "Products offered or available for retail sale in any way, in the form of sales as defined in Article L. 310-3, are indicated by a mention stating that they are "discounted".

 Cass. crim., 13 January 2004, LawLex200400000298JBJ.

  Cass. crim., 5 December 2006, LawLex201200001208JBJ.

   CA Nîmes, 3 February 2009, LawLex201200001195JBJ.

  Montpellier, 17 October 1995, LawLex200300004281JBJ, in the absence of information on the nature of the discounted items and price policy applied on the items in question after the promotion period; for a similar decision: CA Pau, 27 September 1994, LawLex200300004222JBJ: advertising panel affixed on the storefront and the distribution of an undetermined number of prospectuses, outside of any publication in the press, do not demonstrate a desire for a rapid sale of a stock and the operation does not constitute a sales operation.

 See Article 2 of the Order of 11 March 2015 on price reduction announcements to the consumer.

Three conditions must be met for a sale to qualify as a sales operation: rapid disposal of stocks, advertising and price reduction. A promotional operation, even if preceded by advertising that suggests a rapid disposal of the stocks, does not characterize a sales operation if prices are not reduced . The price reduction can be very important since Article L. 442-4, 7 ° of the Commercial Code allows traders who carry out sales operations to charge prices lower than the resale at a loss threshold.

The price reduction must be effective, but does not necessarily have to be lower than any reduced price charged by the same store at other periods , and the term “sales” does not have to appear with the price reduction announcement . Similarly, labels showing reduced prices both on items displayed in the store windows and in-store, sufficiently characterize the announcement of a price reduction .

The price reduction announcement, which generally takes the form of a display of the normal price, the reduced price and the percentage of the reduction applied , must comply with the terms of the Order of 11 March 2015 on price reduction announcements in respect of the consumer. Under Article 2, when a price reduction announcement is made in a commercial establishment, the labeling, marking or display of prices carried out in accordance with the provisions in force must specify, in addition to the reduced price shown, the reference price on which the price reduction is announced. When the price reduction announcement is of a uniform rate and relates to fully identified products or services, the reduction can be made by means of a cash discount. This method must be advertised, the indication of the reduced price not being mandatory and the benefit announced being understood in relation to the reference price (Order of 2015, Article 3).

Previously, the reference price was established according to the methods laid down in the regulations. Article 2 of the Order of 2008, repealed by the Order of 2015, provided that it could not exceed “the lowest price actually charged by the advertiser for a similar item or service, in the same retail outlet or distance selling site, in the thirty days preceding the start of the advertising. The reference price thus defined [could] be retained in the event of price reductions announced successively during the same commercial operation, within the limit of one month from the first price reduction announcement, or during the same sales or closing-down sale period”. Now, the reference price is determined by the advertiser itself (Order of 2015, Article 2).

 Cass. crim., 23 January 2001, LawLex200300004209JBJ, upholding CA Caen, 15 May 2000, LawLex200400000053JBJ, holding that the customer, having paid the usual price for the product sold, can only use the voucher issued on this occasion from the following day to buy other goods. This sales process, intended to foster customer loyalty by granting a credit note for future purchases, is not a price reduction on the product sold.

 CA Bordeaux, 3 June 2005, LawLex200600001511JBJ.

 CA Grenoble, 11 December 2002, LawLex200400000441JBJ, upheld by Cass. crim., 13 January 2004, LawLex200400000298JBJ; CA Paris, 22 March 2002, LawLex200300001796JBJ: commercial operation, carried out subsequent to the legal sales period, with advertising on the storefront announcing price reductions with the mention "and to finish ...".

 CA Riom, 6 March 2003, LawLex200300004346JBJ; CA Paris, 27 September 2002, LawLex200300004434JBJ; CA Grenoble, 6 September 2000, LawLex200300004373JBJ: sale of items whose labels show the normal price, the reduced price and the percentage of the reduction.

 See for an example, CA Grenoble, 6 September 2000, LawLex200300004373JBJ; CA Paris, 27 September 2002, LawLex200300004434JBJ.

French Consumer Law

318. Advertising

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318. Advertising

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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