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French Consumer Law

Sales or exchanges of moveable objects, or “garage sales” ("vide-greniers") are, pursuant to Law No 2005-882 of 2 August 2005 in favor of small and medium-sized enterprises , governed by Article L. 310-2 of the Commercial Code. Thus, individuals who are not registered with the trade and companies register are authorized to take part in sales on temporary premises. Originally, the legislation impos …

Flea markets and "garage sales"

Sales or exchanges of moveable objects, or “garage sales” ("vide-greniers") are, pursuant to Law No 2005-882 of 2 August 2005 in favor of small and medium-sized enterprises , governed by Article L. 310-2 of the Commercial Code. Thus, individuals who are not registered with the trade and companies register are authorized to take part in sales on temporary premises. Originally, the legislation imposed two conditions: a maximum of two annual garage sales on a given geographical area  and the goods sold could only consist of used personal objects. The aim was to act against fraud and to protect second-hand dealers from the competition of certain individuals. In fact, the development of garage sales, combined with the absence of a legal framework for the participation of individuals in these events, revealed a certain number of deviations related in particular to the presence of “false individuals”, who had practically become “Sunday traders”.

These rules changed with the LME Law of 4 August 2008 for individuals who had not chosen to register with the  trade and companies registry. The legislator abolished the geographical area requirement for individuals, while maintaining the limitations concerning participation twice a year and the personal and used nature of the goods. In return, Article R. 310-9 of the Commercial Code introduced a control on sales on temporary premises authorized for individuals by means of the register provided for in Article 321-7, paragraph 2, of the Criminal Code. The register must indicate the nature, characteristics, origin, method of payment of the object, contain a description of the objects acquired or held for sale or exchange and allow the identification of such articles and of the persons who sold them or gave them in exchange, under penalty of six months' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 30,000. After examining the legality of this decree, the Council of State considered that these provisions are sufficiently effective to ensure the effective control of the limitations laid down by law, without reducing their scope .

 The implementing legislation has given rise to numerous difficulties: the Council of State was seized by a professional union of second-hand dealers for the annulment on the grounds of ultra vires of the implicit decision of rejection resulting from the silence of the Prime Minister and Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Commerce, Craft and the Liberal Professions, of its request for the enactment and publication of the Decree implementing Article 21 of Law No 2005-882 of 2 August 2005. According to the Court of Cassation, the Government had an obligation to issue the decree within a reasonable period of time, the fact that the preparation of this decree had revealed numerous reservations not being such as to exempt it from this obligation (Cons. d'Ét., 16 June 2008, LawLex201200001357JBJ).

 The sellers must be domiciled or have their secondary residence in the municipality, intermunicipal or departmental borough (the municipal borough in the case of the cities of Lyon, Marseille and Paris).

 Cons. d'Ét., 22 March 2010, LawLex201200001367JBJ.

French Consumer Law

477. Flea markets and "garage sales"

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477. Flea markets and "garage sales"

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

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise