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

General contract law imposes an obligation on the seller to provide information to the buyer, which requires the former, often in a position of strength due to its expertise, to spontaneously provide the latter with the information likely to influence his decision to contract. It therefore enables the buyer to make an informed commitment and avoid unpleasant surprises during the performance phase  …

Legal foundation

General contract law imposes an obligation on the seller to provide information to the buyer, which requires the former, often in a position of strength due to its expertise, to spontaneously provide the latter with the information likely to influence his decision to contract. It therefore enables the buyer to make an informed commitment and avoid unpleasant surprises during the performance phase of the contract. In other words, the information obligation, in the same way as mistake or fraud, is intended to enable the buyer to give his informed consent.

The information obligation is intended to restore the contractual balance, in terms of knowledge and expertise, between the parties to the contract of sale, in particular when it is between a professional and a lay person. Particularly developed in banking and medical matters, it is applicable to all types of professional debtors. A real judge-made creation, it has a pre-contractual nature when its provision or non-provision determines the consent of the contracting party and a contractual nature when it determines the proper performance of the contract. Implicit until the reform of contract law, it is based on the good faith  referred to in Article 1104  and the defects of consent - mistake, fraud, duress - set out in Article 1130 . It also derives its existence from Article 1645, as an accessory to the obligation to deliver, or Article 1602, which specifies that the seller is required to explain clearly to the buyer what it is committing to and that any vague or ambiguous agreement is interpreted against it. It is sometimes resolved by damages pursuant to Article 1231-1 ; finally, more recently, the Court of Cassation relied on Article 1245-3  of the Civil Code on liability for defective products, to infer the existence of an obligation to provide information . The obligation to provide information, which is usually governed by civil liability law, which it constitutes a particular area of, has moved closer, while standing apart, to defects of consent , but also, by certain aspects, to the law of unfair commercial practices  and the warranty against latent defects. The boundary between the obligation to provide information and defects of consent might appear less clear with the new Article 1112-1, which imposes a general pre-contractual information duty, and Article 1137, which enshrines fraudulent non-disclosure, and accordingly a pre-contractual information obligation, whose disregard is likely to vitiate consent. Initially provided for in the sub-section devoted to consent, the duty to provide information is now found in the sub-section dealing with negotiations. Does this mean that the scope of Article 1112-1 is limited to cases in which the formation of the contract gives rise to negotiations?

In addition to the pre-contractual and contractual information obligation of the Civil Code, the Consumer Code requires the provision of a multitude of information to the consumer. At the pre-contractual stage, it imposes the general information obligation , as provided for in Articles L. 111-1 et seq., amended in respect of its principal provisions by Law No 2010-853 of 23 July 2010 on chambers of commerce trade, crafts and services , then by the Hamon Law of 17 March 2014  and its implementing Decree No 2014-1061 of 17 September 2014 on the obligation to provide consumers with pre-contractual and contractual information and the right of withdrawal  and Decree No 2014-1482 of 9 December 2014 on information on the availability of spare parts , the Macron Law of 6 August 2015 on growth, activity and equality of economic opportunities , Law No 2016-1321 of 7 October 2016 “for a digital Republic”  as well as Law No 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 on the fight against waste and the circular economy and finally Ordinance No 2021-1247 of 21 September 2021 on the legal guarantee of conformity for goods, digital content and digital services..

The general obligation to provide information, as set out in the Consumer Code, mainly results from the transposition of Directive No 2011/83 on consumer protection , of maximum harmonization , which, in addition to contracts concluded off-premises and at a distance, also governs pre-contractual information in general (Article 5 of Directive No 2011/83 ). The Hamon Law, which transposed the European text, has considerably strengthened the general pre-contractual information obligation, by now imposing on the seller of goods or services, when it contracts with a consumer, to provide information not just on the “essential characteristics of the good” , but also more information concerning, in particular, its identity and activity or the availability of spare parts .  The scope of the general pre-contractual information obligation has expanded steadily since Directive No 2011/83 was amended by the Omnibus Directive, with a view to better applying and modernizing EU consumer protection rules. This obligation - whose content varies depending on the type of contract - also exists in the areas of consumer credit , insurance , the sale or property to be built , leases , sureties , mandates , etc. Directive No 2011/83 has again been amended by Directive No 2024/825 of 28 February 2024, known as the Greenwashing Directive, which Member States must transpose by 27 March 2026 at the latest, and which aims to empower consumers to act in favor of green transition through better protection against unfair practices and better information, in particular by requiring the provision of pre-contractual information on the durability and repairability of goods, as well as on the availability of spare parts or updates.

The transposition into national law of Directive No 2005/29 on unfair commercial practices which obliges professionals to comply with the requirements of professional diligence has also had repercussions as regards the content of the information to be provided to the consumer: the text requires that it is fair, understandable, easily readable and accessible  to “any person whose activity consists in putting several parties in contact, by electronic means, with a view to the sale of a good, the provision of a service or the exchange or sharing of a good or service”. Regulation No 2022/2065 of 19 October 2022 on a single market for digital services (Digital Service Act) strengthened this transparency obligation for digital platforms.

Thus, Article L. 111-7  , as amended by Law 2024-449 of 21 May 2024, known as the SREN Law , requires any provider of an online marketplace or online comparator to deliver fair, clear and transparent information :

1° the general conditions of use of the intermediation service and on the procedures for referencing, classifying and de-referencing the content, goods or services which this service provides access to;

 2° the existence of a contractual relationship, capital ties or remuneration for its benefit, when they influence the classification or referencing of the content, goods or services offered or placed online; 

3° the status of the advertiser and the rights and obligations of the parties in civil and tax matters, when consumers are put into contact with professionals or non-professionals”. 

All providers of online comparison services must also provide consumers with information on the elements of the comparison and what constitutes advertising within the meaning of Article 20 of the Law 2004-575 of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the digital economy.

When professional sellers or service providers are put into contact with consumers, these platforms are also required to make a space available to professionals to enable them to communicate information to consumers prior to the distance or off-premise conclusion of a contract of sale or for the provision of services provided for in Article L. 221-5 and L. 221-6. 

In application of Article L. 111-7, Articles D. 111-6 , D. 111-7  and D. 111-8 , resulting from Decree No 2024-753 of 7 July 2024, likewise require online comparison and marketplace providers to include in a specific section, directly and easily accessible from all pages of the site, a certain amount of information, such as the default ranking criteria for content and offers of goods and services, the description of the relationship-building service, and the nature and purpose of the contracts it enables to be concluded.

Article L. 111-7-2  also requires online review platforms to “provide users with fair, clear and transparent information on the publication and processing of online reviews”. Article D. 111-9, as amended by Decree No 2024-753 of 9 July 2024, states that an online review is defined as the expression of a consumer's opinion on his or her consumer experience, based on any element of assessment, whether qualitative or quantitative, whether or not the consumer has purchased the good or service, and that user referrals, recommendations by users of online reviews and expert opinions do not constitute online reviews within the meaning of Article L. 111-7-2. Article D. 111-10 adds that the existence or not of a review control procedure, the date of publication of the review and of the consumer experience concerned by the review, as well as the review ranking criteria must be indicated in the vicinity of the reviews. In addition, a specific, easily accessible section must mention whether or not there is any consideration in exchange for posting a review, as well as the maximum time-limit for publishing and retaining a review. Article D. 111-11 stipulates that the processing of personal data implemented in this context must comply with amended Act 78-17 of 6 January 1978 on Data Processing, Data Files and Individual Liberties, and must specify the main features of the control of reviews at the time of their collection, moderation or publication, the possibility, where applicable, of contacting the consumer who submitted the review, the possibility or otherwise of amending a review and, where applicable, the procedures for amending the review and the reasons justifying a refusal to publish the review.

In addition, Article L. 111-7-3, resulting from Law No 2022-309 of 3 March 2022 for the introduction of cybersecurity certification for digital platforms aimed at the general public, requires providers of online platforms, online search engines and online comparators, and to persons providing non-number-based interpersonal communications services whose activity exceeds one or more thresholds defined by decree, to implement a cybersecurity audit, covering the security and location of the data they host, directly or via a third party, and their own security. The result of the audit is presented to the consumer in a legible, clear and comprehensible manner, and is accompanied by a complementary presentation or expression, by means of a colorful information system.

  Cass. com., 10 March 2015, LawLex201500001811JBJ, considering that a financial and investment consulting firm that suggests to individuals that they are purchasing a pure tax exemption product, although it makes them lenders of risk monies, breaches its obligations to information and execute in good faith agreements with investors who, if they had known the reality through personalized information, would have been discouraged from committing themselves.

Former Article 1134, para. 3, Civil Code.

  Recital 5 of Directive No 2011/83 states: “the full harmonization of consumer information and the right of withdrawal in distance and off-premises contracts will contribute to a high level of consumer protection and a better functioning of the business-to-consumer internal market”.

Directive No 2011/83, amended by Directive No 2015/2302, Directive No 2019-2161 and Directive No 2024/825, Art. 5 : 

1. Before the  consumer is bound by a contract other than a distance or an off-premises  contract, or any corresponding offer, the trader shall provide the  consumer with the following information in a clear and comprehensible  manner, if that information is not already apparent from the context:

(a) the main characteristics of the goods or services, to the extent appropriate to the medium and to the goods or services; (b) the identity of the  trader, such as his trading name, the geographical address at which he  is established and his telephone number; (c) the total price of the  goods or services inclusive of taxes, or where the nature of the goods  or services is such that the price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the manner in which the price is to be calculated, as well as,  where applicable, all additional freight, delivery or postal charges or, where those charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the fact that such additional charges may be payable;

(d) where applicable, the  arrangements for payment, delivery, performance, the time by which the  trader undertakes to deliver the goods or to perform the service, and  the trader’s complaint handling policy; ) a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for goods and of its main features, including its minimum duration of two years as provided for in Directive (EU) 2019/771, in a clearly visible manner, by means of the harmonized notice referred to in Article 22a of this Directive; (e(i)) where the producer offers the consumer a commercial guarantee of durability at no extra cost, applying to the whole good and lasting for more than two years, and makes this information available to the professional, information indicating that the said good benefits from such a guarantee, and its duration as well as a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity, in a clearly visible manner by means of the harmonized label referred to in Article 22a ; e b) a reminder of the existence of the legal guarantee of conformity for digital content and digital services; e quater) where applicable, the existence of an after-sales service and commercial guarantees, and the conditions relating thereto; e iii) for goods with digital elements, for digital content and for digital services, where the producer or supplier makes the information available to the professional, the minimum duration, expressed by reference to a period or date, during which the producer or supplier provides software updates; f) the duration of the contract, if applicable, or, in the case of an open-ended or automatically renewable contract, the conditions for terminating the contract; g) if applicable, the functionality of goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services, including applicable technical protection measures; h) where applicable, any relevant compatibility and interoperability of goods incorporating digital elements, digital content and digital services of which the professional has or ought reasonably to have knowledge; i) where applicable, the reparability index of the goods; j); where point (i) is not applicable and on condition that the producer makes the information available to the trader, information on the availability, estimated cost and ordering procedure for spare parts needed to maintain the conformity of the goods, on the availability of repair and maintenance instructions and on repair restrictions.

2.  Paragraph 1 shall also apply to contracts for the supply of water, gas or electricity where they are not packaged in a defined volume or quantity, as well as district heating and digital content not supplied on a physical medium.

3.  Member States are not obliged to apply paragraph 1 to contracts which relate to transactions concerning everyday life and which are performed as soon as they are concluded.

4.  Member States may maintain or adopt additional pre-contractual information requirements for contracts to which this article applies”.

 Consumer Code, Art. L. 111-1 as amended: “Before the consumer is bound by a contract for the sale of goods or services, the trader shall communicate in a legible and comprehensible manner to the consumer the following information: 1° The essential characteristics of the good or service, taking into account the communication medium used and the good or service concerned; 2° The price of the good or service, in application of Articles L. 112-1 to L. 112-4; 3° In the absence of immediate execution of the contract, the date or time at which the trader undertakes to deliver the goods or perform the service; 4° Information relating to its identity, its postal, telephone and electronic contact details and its activities, provided that they do not emerge from the context; (5) Where applicable, information on legal safeguards, the functionality of digital content and, where appropriate, its interoperability, the existence and manner of implementation of the guarantees and other contractual conditions; 6 ° The possibility of using a consumer mediator under the conditions laid down in Title I of Book VI. The list and the precise content of this information are set by Decree of the Council of State. The provisions of this Article also apply to contracts for the supply of water, gas or electricity, when they are not for a defined volume or quantity, as well as for district heating and digital content not supplied on a hardware medium. These contracts also refer to the need for an economical consumption which respects the preservation of the environment”.

  Consumer Code, Article L. 111-4 (former Article L. 111-3): “The manufacturer or importer of movable property shall inform the professional seller of the period during which or the date until which the spare parts essential to the use of the goods are available on the market. This information must be delivered to the consumer by the seller in a legible manner before the conclusion of the contract and confirmed in writing when the goods are purchased. When it has indicated the period or date mentioned in the first paragraph, the manufacturer or the importer must provide, within two months, to professional sellers or repairers, authorized or not, who request the spare parts essential to the use of the goods sold. A decree specifies the terms and conditions for the application of this Article.”

  Articles L. 312-12 et seq. (former Articles L. 311-8 et seq.) of the Consumer Code.

 Article L. 261-15 of the Building and Housing Code.

 Article L. 125-2 of the Environmental Code.

  Article L. 312-22 of the Monetary and Financial Code.

Former Article L. 111-5-1, Consumer Code, created by the Macron Law; see Art. D 117 et seq. Consumer Code.

Law No 2024-449 of 21 May 2024, known as the “SREN Law”, i.e. to secure and regulate the digital space. The SREN Law amended the Consumer Code to transpose the definitions of the Digital Service Act, notably in the Code's introductory article, which now includes definitions of the terms “online platform”, “online search engine” and “online comparator”.

Article D. 111-6, Consumer Code: “I.-Any online comparator and online marketplace provider referred to in Article L. 111-7, as well as any person referred to in section II of Article 15 of Law No. 47-585 of 2 April 1947 relating to the status of undertakings engaged in the grouping and distribution of newspapers and periodicals must indicate in a specific section the procedures for listing, delisting and ranking. This section is directly and easily accessible from all pages of the site. It includes the following information: 1° The conditions for referencing and delisting content and offers of goods and services, in particular the rules applicable to being referenced and the obligations whose non-observance leads to delisting; The default ranking criteria for content and offers of goods and services, and their main parameters; 3° Where applicable, the existence of a capital link or remuneration between the persons mentioned in the first paragraph and the referenced providers, insofar as this link or remuneration has an influence on the referencing or ranking of the content, goods or services offered or placed online. II - For each ranking result, in the vicinity of the ranked offer or content, all persons mentioned in the first paragraph of I shall display, by any means that distinguishes this result, information to the effect that its ranking has been influenced by the existence of a contractual relationship, a capital link or remuneration between the platform operator and the referenced offerer, including that which relates to advertising within the meaning of Article 20 of amended Law No 2004-575 of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the digital economy. These same persons must indicate, in a legible and easily accessible manner, on each page of results, the ranking criterion used and the definition of this criterion, including by reference to the section mentioned in section I”.

Article D. 111-7, Consumer Code: "I.- Any online comparison service provider must provide a specific section describing how the comparison service works.

This section is directly and easily accessible on all pages of the site and is marked with a distinctive word or mark.

It includes the following information 1° The various criteria used to rank offers of goods and services, and their definitions; 2° Whether or not there is a contractual relationship or capital ties between the comparison site and the professionals listed; 3° Whether or not the site receives remuneration from the professionals listed, and if so, the impact of this on the ranking of offers; 4° Details of price components and the possibility that additional charges may be added; 5° Where applicable, variations in commercial guarantees depending on the products compared; 6° Whether or not the offers of goods or services compared are exhaustive, and the number of sites or undertakings referenced; 7° The frequency and method of updating the offers compared.

II - All providers of online comparison services display the following information in a legible and comprehensible manner at the top of each page of comparison results, before the offers are ranked: 1° The default criterion used to rank the offers, as well as the definition of this criterion, unless the default ranking criterion is price. The definition is indicated, close to the criterion, by any appropriate means; 2° Whether or not the offers of goods or services compared are exhaustive, and the number of sites or undertakings referenced; 3° Whether or not the referencing is paid for.

III - Without prejudice to the information obligations set out in Articles L. 221-5 and L. 222-5 applicable to distance sellers of products and services, any online comparison service provider must provide the following information, in a legible and comprehensible manner, close to each product or service offer for which it offers a comparison: 1° The essential characteristics of the good or service; 2° The total price to be paid by the consumer; 3° Where applicable, the commercial guarantees, governed by Articles L. 217-21 to L. 217-23, included in the price.

Article D. 111-8, Consumer Code: “I.-. Any online marketplace provider must specify, in a section that is directly and easily accessible from all pages of the site, without the user having to identify himself, the following information: 1° The main parameters for ranking the offers presented to the consumer in response to the search request, as well as the order of importance of these parameters, as opposed to other parameters; 2° The status of persons authorized to submit an offer of goods and services, and in particular their status as professional or consumer; 3° A description of the contact service, as well as the nature and purpose of the contracts it enables to be concluded; 4° Where applicable, the price of the matchmaking service or the method of calculating this price, as well as the price of any additional paid services, where these are charged to the consumer; 5° Where applicable, the payment terms and the method of managing the financial transaction, either directly or through a third party; 6° Where applicable, the insurance and guarantees offered by the platform operator; 7° The dispute settlement terms and, where applicable, the role of the platform operator in this settlement. II. Any online marketplace provider who puts consumers or non-professionals in contact with each other, on a principal or accessory basis, also indicates, in a legible and comprehensible manner: 1° The quality of the offeror, depending on whether the offer is proposed by a professional or by a consumer or non-professional, according to the status declared by the latter; 2° If the offer is proposed by a consumer or non-professional: a) Prior to submitting the offer, the penalties incurred by the offeror if he acts in a professional capacity while presenting himself as a consumer or non-professional, in application of the provisions of Article L. 132-2; b) For each offer: - the total price of the goods or services offered, including, where applicable, the costs of establishing contact and any additional costs payable, based on the price declared by the offeror; - the right of withdrawal where the parties to the contract have provided for this, or, failing this, the absence of a right of withdrawal for the purchaser within the meaning of Article L. 221-18; - the absence of the legal guarantee of conformity of the goods referred to in Articles L. 217-3 et seq. or that of digital content and services mentioned in articles L. 224-25-12 et seq. of the Consumer Code, and the application of the legal warranty against latent defects as specified in Articles 1641 to 1649 of the Civil Code; - the provisions of the Civil Code relating to the law of obligations and civil liability applicable to the contractual relationship, through the inclusion of a hypertext link”.

Article L. 117-1-2, Consumer Code: “Without prejudice to the information obligations set out in Article 19 of Law No. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004 on confidence in the digital economy and in Article L. 111-7 of the present Code, any natural or legal person whose activity consists, on a principal or accessory basis, in collecting, moderating or disseminating online consumer reviews is required to provide users with fair, clear and transparent information on the publication and processing of online reviews.

It must specify whether or not these reviews are subject to verification and, if so, it must indicate the main features of the verification carried out.

It displays the date of the review and any updates.

It informs consumers whose online review has not been published of the reasons for its rejection.

It provides a free function enabling those responsible for products or services that are the subject of an online review to notify it of any doubts about the authenticity of the review, provided that the notification is substantiated.

A decree, issued after consultation with the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), sets the terms and content of this information”.

  Cass. 1re civ., 7 November 2006, LawLex200700000113JBJ.

  On the difference between the mere lack of information and fraudulent non-disclosure, see Cass. com., 28 June 2005, LawLex200600002444JBJ.

 CA Paris, 24 May 2013, LawLex201300000855JBJ.

 The general duty to inform is now qualified as “pre-contractual” in Chapter 1 of Book 1,Title 1 of the Consumer Code.

French Consumer Law

383. Legal foundation

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383. Legal foundation

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