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

The law has from very early on concerned itself with defects likely to affect products: the warranty against latent defects is one of the oldest institutions of French law; the Civil Code has provided from the outset for responsibility for things held in a person's care; in the area of food, the legislator laid down rules protecting consumers in the area of fraud and adulteration by the Law of 1 A …

Increased consumer protection

The law has from very early on concerned itself with defects likely to affect products: the warranty against latent defects is one of the oldest institutions of French law; the Civil Code has provided from the outset for responsibility for things held in a person's care; in the area of food, the legislator laid down rules protecting consumers in the area of fraud and adulteration by the Law of 1 August 1905.

The advent of the consumer society after the Second World War and the increase in technically advanced and potentially dangerous consumer goods accelerated the movement for the protection of consumers against the risks incurred in the event of defective and/or dangerous products. Initially the Law of 21 July 1983 organized consumer safety and amended the Law of 1905. The European Union took over in 1985 with Directive No 85/374 on liability for defective products, and in 1992, with Directive No 92/59, as amended by Directive No 2001/95, imposed a general safety obligation, which aims to ensure that products placed on the market are safe. The general safety requirement concerns all products placed on the market or made available to consumers in another way intended for, or likely to be used by consumers under reasonably foreseeable conditions, even if not intended for them.

Today, consumer safety is assured by an impressive legal arsenal. In addition to the general civil liability regime, which obliges the professional who has caused damage as a result of the breach of its safety obligation to pay compensation, the general safety requirement laid down in Article L. 421-3 of the Consumer Code (former Article L. 221-1, paragraph  1) requires it to guarantee the consumer the safety he is entitled to expect of products or services used under normally or reasonably foreseeable conditions. In addition, Articles 1245 et seq. (former Articles 1386-1 et seq.) of the Civil Code lay down the principles governing liability for defective products, in accordance with Directive No 85/374, by introducing an autonomous and special regime of liability of the producer for defective products, which takes precedence over the rules of liability under ordinary law. 

French Consumer Law

645. Increased consumer protection

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Les notions juridiques connexes

645. Increased consumer protection

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Sous parties

Les notions juridiques connexes

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