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. 441-1 (former Article L. 213-1) of the Consumer Code refers to deception “by any means or process whatsoever, even through a third party”. This formulation makes it possible to punish any type of behavior having the purpose or effect of deceiving a contracting party. Such behavior may involve lying orally or in writing about the characteristics of the product.
The inaccurate presentatio …

False allegations

Article L. 441-1 (former Article L. 213-1) of the Consumer Code refers to deception “by any means or process whatsoever, even through a third party”. This formulation makes it possible to punish any type of behavior having the purpose or effect of deceiving a contracting party. Such behavior may involve lying orally or in writing about the characteristics of the product.

The inaccurate presentation of the product or service, which seeks to attribute to it qualities that it does not have, is a means of deceiving the contracting party . This is the case of the Internet service provider who promotes its “triple play” offer by mentioning a very attractive maximum speed that can be reached, which it knows is systematically over-assessed , or the advertiser who uses a trade name which implies that he carries out a livestock breeding activity in a particular region, although he is only engaged in the trade and slaughter of animals . The announcement of inaccurate probabilities of winning a prize during a lottery may also be misleading within the meaning of Article L. 441-1 (former Article L. 213-1) of the Consumer Code .

In the automobile sector, the fact of not revealing the condition of the vehicle, presenting it as “in very good condition” despite the serious accident it has suffered, characterizes the offense of deception . This is the case when the expert in charge of examining a vehicle, although aware that his intervention is intended for its release for resale, certifies in his report the repair of all elements concerning the safety of the vehicle in accordance with professional standards, although in reality, only a purely formal control has been carried out .

Finally, in the case of travel, the statement in a cruise brochure that the price includes “round-trip air transport on regular airlines”, although the journey is done by charter airplane, as well as the cancellation of some of the services announced in the detailed program, is of a deceptive nature .

 CA Angers, 29 November 1990, LawLex200400001099JBJ, on the fact of presenting a product as organic, although it has undergone a treatment; Cass. crim., 23 March 2004, LawLex200400000808JBJ, indication of "truffle" for cured meat that only contains truffle flakes or peelings.

 Court of Cassation, Criminal Division, 27 January 2015, LawLex201500000162JBJ.

 Cass. crim., 12 March 2002, LawLex200300003268JBJ.

 CA Paris, 21 January 2008, LawLex201200001931JBJ.

 Cass. crim., 24 February 2004, LawLex200400000946JBJ.

 Cass. crim., 18 May 2005, LawLex200600002183JBJ.

 CA Paris, 17 September 2008, LawLex201200001935JBJ.

French Consumer Law

553. False allegations

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

553. False allegations

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