Important T&C Changes in France: What You Need to Know

The French e-commerce sector, like many other European e-commerce markets, has seen impressive growth in recent years. As an online shop owner already doing business in France (or considering to do so), there are a few things you need to know when it comes to selling in France successfully. In today’s article, learn about recent changes and requirements regarding terms and conditions for online shops in France.

The importance of terms and conditions in e-commerce

Terms and conditions (T&C in short), also referred to as terms of use or terms of service, are pre-formulated terms that one contracting party provides to the other contracting party when concluding a contract (or when it comes to online shops: when an order has been placed and a contract of purchase was concluded).

As an online retailer, you probably already know about the importance of legal guidelines in online shops. Even though many customers don’t read a website’s terms and conditions document, it not only provides legal protection for online retailers, but it also helps convey trust to customers.

The T&C document in online shops, for example, usually includes the terms of payment and sale, shipping and delivery terms, and terms of use.

What has changed for shop owners in France?

Following the transposition law of the Sale of Goods and Digital Content Directives, the French government has amended the provisions on warranty law.

On the 1st of October 2022, the so-called “Décret n° 2022-946” came into force.

Those doing business in France or are planning to do so the in the future are affected by the new directive. But what has actually changed for online shops selling in France?

In France, regulations on consumer warranty rights are contained in the so-called “Code de la consummation” or consumer code. Through the new directive, this code was amended and several changes to the general pre-contractual obligation to inform were made.

According to the “Décret”, general pre-contractual information obligations were adapted to both the modernisation of the statutory consumer warranty law for goods and to the creation of an analogous statutory warranty law for the provision of digital content and digital services.

Since October 1st, 2022, applicable terms and conditions for consumer contracts must contain the following information:

name of the entrepreneur/retailer responsible for the various legal warranty rights and commercial guarantees (i.e. the respective owner of the online shop)
postal and telephone contact details
email address (or any relevant digital means of contact) through which consumers can make their request to exercise their right of warranty and guarantee

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Even before the new directive came into force, the terms and conditions in French online shops always had to contain a framed text with information on the French statutory warranty rights.

The content of this text has now been updated, expanded, and adapted to the new legal framework.

The appendix to the French “Code de la consummation” holds a pre-formulated T&C template for the sale of consumer goods that online shops are obligated to include in their respective terms and conditions document.

Contracts for commercial guarantees must now be included in the same framework to inform customers about legal guarantee rights and their right to claim them.

Similar regulations also apply to online shops that operate in the sales of domesticated animals. The appendix of the “Code de la consummation” includes respective templates for businesses in this sector as well.

No matter what you’re selling, make sure to check if your warranty clause is up to date and be sure to adapt it if necessary.

Businesses that not only sell goods or services to consumers, but also exchange goods or services for additional or exclusive benefits, must now indicate this to potential customers in their terms of conditions as well.

shutterstock/Serhii Yevdokymov

Bonus: Tip from our legal expert

As of the 1st of October, online shops are legally obligated to formulate and explain their business model and practices using a precise and comprehensible tone.

In addition, businesses have to specify their use of personal and user data in their terms and conditions.

In order to avoid legal action and consequences, all of the information mentioned above, if applicable to you and your business in France, must be included in your T&Cs from 1st of October 2022.

You might risk fines of €3,000 for natural persons and €15,000 for legal persons if important legal information isn’t included in the terms and conditions document.

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