Buying Goods & Services in France

(source: European Union)

1. The protection provided by Community law

You are protected against unfair terms whenever you as a consumer conclude a contract with a professional anywhere in the European Union. A contractual term is in principle regarded as unfair if it causes a significant imbalance in the party's rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer. For example, you might buy an electrical household appliance where the seller's standard terms disclaim liability in the event of late delivery of the product, or stipulate that the firm shall be in no way liable for consequential damage caused by one or more hidden defects. If you come across such terms you have the right to challenge them or to ignore them - they do not bind you.

The conditions under which these terms are invalid are fleshed out in the rules of each Member State. These conditions, as well as other practical examples and particulars, can be found in Part II of this Factsheet. When there is doubt as to the meaning of a written term (including standard terms) in your contract with a professional, the interpretation most favourable to the consumer will prevail. This rule derives from the general rule whereby in contracts where all or certain terms are in writing, these terms must always be drafted in plain, intelligible language.

Note that, besides a general definition of unfair terms, Community legislation contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of terms normally considered as unfair. Moreover, in order to protect you against the use of unfair terms, the Community rules oblige the Member States to apply appropriate and effective means to prevent the continued use of such terms.

The protection provided by Community law concerning unfair terms must be guaranteed by the legislation of each EU Member State. Moreover the Member State may reinforce or supplement this protection in the context of its domestic legal order. This is why, in the following section, you will find the key points of French law which a person who has concluded or wishes to conclude a contract must know in order to react effectively and exercise his rights in the situation covered by French law. 

The information in Part II was provided by the French authorities.

II. Useful details on specific provisions of French Law

French law is more comprehensive than the European Directive on certain points. It provides for: - protection of "non-professionals": the notion of "non-professionals" covers for example private individuals who make financial investments, friendly societies, associations, and co-properties; - coverage of all contracts containing unfair terms; Hence French law avoids the interpretation problems, which may arise from the - often artificial - distinction between contracts of adhesion and individually negotiated contracts.

In French law, it is for the courts to strike down unfair terms. This is because, very often, terms can only be declared unfair in the light of the overall economic circumstances surrounding the disputed contract. Since the legal definition of an unfair term is very open-ended, the courts may rely upon the guidelines on unfair terms in the shape of 

1. the list in the European Directive (this list of 17 general terms is also annexed to the Consumer Code) and 
2. the recommendations issued by the Commission des Clauses Abusives (CCA- Unfair Terms Commission).

These guidelines are "grey lists" of terms which the court may use as guidance, while retaining its freedom of interpretation in regard to the criteria laid down by the law.

The CCA is an independent authority under the wing of the Minister responsible for consumer affairs. It includes, on a parity basis, representatives of professionals and consumers, judges, and specialists in contract law (law professors, lawyers). The CCA recommendations are a guide enabling consumers to identify unfair terms and to single out the best contracts, or again to renegotiate contracts, by inviting the professional to review his terms on the basis of the recommendations. In the event of a dispute, CCA recommendations can be relied upon in actions seeking the injunction of unfair terms brought before the civil courts by individual consumers or by consumer organisations. Article L.421-6 of the Consumer Code permits approved consumer associations to sue in the civil courts for the prohibition of unfair terms in standard-form contracts regularly proposed by professionals to consumers and in contracts intended for consumers proposed by the professional organisations to their members.

Consumer associations may bring actions for the injunction of unfair terms on their own motion, even if individual consumers have not been harmed.

Consumer associations may also intervene in out-of-court dispute resolution, by trying to reconcile the consumer and the professional. Decree No 78-464 of 24 March 1978 (Articles R.132-1 and following of the Consumer Code) was adopted in application of the law on unfair terms. In contracts of sale the Decree outlaws terms whose object or effect is to exclude or attenuate the consumer's remedies against professionals who fail to meet their obligations. The Decree also outlaws terms whose object or effect is to reserve for the professional the right unilaterally to alter the properties of the good to be delivered or the service to be provided. Finally, the Decree prohibits professionals from supplying a warranty on the good to be delivered or the service to be provided without stating clearly that, in any event, the purchaser's statutory rights are unaffected. These rights require professional sellers to provide a guarantee against all damage resulting from patent or hidden defects of the goods sold or the service rendered.

III. Reference texts

Community text: 

Council Directive 93/13 of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts (published in Official Journal of the European Communities No L 95 of 21.4.93, p. 95) 

National texts

• Articles L.132-1 to L.135-1 of the Consumer Code.
• Article L.421-6 of the Consumer Code (actions brought by consumer associations).
• Articles R.132-1 and R.132-2 of the Consumer Code.

IV. Contact points

• The departmental Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and the Suppression of Fraud (address in the telephone directory or on Minitel): information, guidance, general policy.
• Departmental consumer associations (Minitel address, 3614 CONSOM): information, guidance, intervention, out-of-court settlement.
• Commission des clauses abusives (59 Bd Vincent Auriol - 75703 PARIS CEDEX 13, Telephone 01 44 97 23 07): information on the CCA recommendations.

Note: This Citizens First Factsheet is intended to provide guidance on EU law for information purposes only. It has been prepared by the European Commission with the help of national authorities and contains information on the national implementation of EU law. You are advised that the texts of Community legal instruments should be relied upon in case of doubt concerning the extent of a right or obligation arising from EU law.