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. 217-1 of the Consumer Code resulting from Ordinance No 2021-1247, which incorporates the provisions of Article L. 217-3, specifies that the obligation of conformity with the contract applies only to a contract concluded between a professional seller, or one that has the semblance of such a seller.  It does not cover contracts concluded between individuals, or those between professionals …

Status of the parties

Article L. 217-1 of the Consumer Code resulting from Ordinance No 2021-1247, which incorporates the provisions of Article L. 217-3, specifies that the obligation of conformity with the contract applies only to a contract concluded between a professional seller, or one that has the semblance of such a seller.  It does not cover contracts concluded between individuals, or those between professionals.

Directive No 2019/71 defines a seller as “any natural person or any legal person, irrespective of whether privately or publicly owned, that is acting, including through any other person acting in that natural or legal person's name or on that person's behalf, for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession, in relation to contracts covered by this Directive” (Art.3(2)) . French law does not expressly include the concepts of legal person or natural person, but there is no reason to see this as a reason to differentiate between them . 

Directive No 2019/771 considers, as does the preliminary article of the Consumer Code, incorporated by the Hamon Law, that a consumer is “any natural person who, with regard to contracts covered by this Directive, is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession” ( Art. 2(2) a)).  Although the concept of consumer may apply to the professional who contracts in his personal capacity, it is not possible for a legal person to avail itself of the status of consumer, as the Court of Justice has in fact affirmed: only natural persons acting as consumers are covered  . Moreover, according to the Court  , it is for the national court hearing a dispute concerning a contract likely to fall within the scope of Directive No 1999/44 to examine whether the buyer must be regarded as a consumer even though he has not availed himself of this status, whether or not he has the assistance of a lawyer.

However, the legal guarantee of conformity is not always easy to implement. The trial courts have thus held that the buyer who uses a vehicle in the course of his medical activity may be considered a consumer when the purchase was made in his personal capacity . The sixty-seven year old retired videographer who buys a roof tent to equip his vehicle for a world tour with the objective of donating 25 kg of medical equipment to a field hospital in Mongolia, is clearly not acting for purposes that fall within the scope of a commercial, industrial, craft, professional or agricultural activity, notwithstanding the existence of a sponsorship which is not such as to cause him to lose his status as a consumer . This is not the case, on the other hand, for the buyer of a racehorse, retired from a professional activity in a completely different field, but who is a professional breeder . Moreover, the real estate company, seller of a yacht, is not considered a professional seller within the meaning of Article L. 217-1 of the Consumer Code, in the case of a family company which has no commercial activity, is not subject to VAT and has never leased the boat in question .

Art. L. 217-1, Consumer Code: “The provisions of this chapter shall apply to contracts for the sale of tangible movable property between a professional seller, or any person presenting himself or acting as such, and a buyer acting as a consumer”. Previously, Article L. 217-3 provided: “This chapter is applicable to contractual relations between the seller acting in the course of his professional or commercial activity and the buyer acting as a consumer”.

Cf. Article 2 of Directive No 2019/771: “For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply: (3)  “seller” means any natural or any legal person, irrespective of whether privately or publicly owned, that is act meaning, including through any other person acting in that natural or legal person's name or on that person's behalf, for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession [...]”.

  Regarding unfair terms, Case C-541/99 and C-542/99 Judgment of 22 November 2001, Cape SNC v Idealservice Srl, LawLex201100000276JBJ.

  Case C-497/13 Froukje Faber, Judgment of 4 June 2015, LawLex201500000691JBJ.

  CA Saint-Denis, La Réunion, 31 July 2009, LawLex201300000543JBJ.

CA Colmar, 21 January 2019, LawLex201900000121JBJ.

 CA Rouen, 20 June 2012, LawLex201400000666JBJ.

 CA Toulouse, 31 March 2009, LawLex201300000551JBJ.

French Consumer Law

518. Status of the parties

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

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

518. Status of the parties

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