FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Marianne Le Moullec, Gaëlle Robic and Joséphine Perrin, Orasis Avocats
2.2 Regulation of Advertising Claims Most claims are not regulated, but the advertiser must be capable of demonstrating the truthfulness of its claims. In some specific sectors, the adviser’s free - dom of expression is restricted for higher purposes, such as health and safety. Some claims are strictly defined, such as health claims on food products, and products using such claims must meet pre-defined criteria in accordance with EU Regulation on Regula - tion (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on food. There is no distinction in law between express and implied claims. Implied claims may also be consid - ered as deceptive, depending on the factual circum - stances. Claims that cannot be objectively measured, such as “hyperbolic” claims that are obviously parodic or have a lot of emphasis, are not necessarily problematic if it is demonstrated that the average consumer should not be misled by such a hyperbolic, parodic or humor - ous claim. On the contrary, specific claims such as “the best”, “the number one”, “the first”, etc, must be justified by factual elements. 2.3 Substantiation of Advertising Claims Advertising claims must be substantiated by precise and accurate information. Depending on the type of claims and on the product sector, different elements could be used as supporting evidence: consumer surveys, price reports, scientific tests, product speci - fications, product analysis, benchmarks, etc. Claims may refer to test results to promote a product, but the reference to tests must not be misleading. For exam - ple, in the cosmetic sector, the ARPP recommends distinguishing clearly between objective testing on the performance of a cosmetic product and satisfaction tests, whereby consumers are interrogated on their personal satisfaction regarding the product. 2.4 Product Demonstrations There are no specific rules on product demonstrations, which are subject to the same standards of truthful - ness as any advertising practices. Therefore, product demonstrations must be accurate in their description of the product’s performance under normal use.
2.5 Endorsements and Testimonials The use of endorsements and testimonials is not specifically regulated by general advertising laws. As advertising, they must be identified as such, and must be truthful and not misleading. The ARPP has issued a recommendation on this topic, stating notably that endorsements and testimonials must be authentic, verifiable and up to date. If the tes - timonial is sponsored, this must be clearly indicated. Testimonials must be from individuals or public figures with indisputable competence, and must be based on experiments carried out by the person themselves. 2.6 Environmental Claims Under French law, it is prohibited to label a product or packaging with the words “biodegradable” “envi - ronmentally friendly” or any other equivalent wording (Article L.541-9-1 of the Environmental Code). Environmental claims follow the same rules as any other advertising claims under the French Consumer Code but, since 2021, misleading “greenwashing” claims may be sanctioned by a fine of up to 80% of the costs of the advertising campaign (instead of 50% for regular claims). EU Directive No 2024/825 on environmental claims has strengthened the means to fight against green - washing by providing a list of 12 “greenwashing” claims that are deemed to be misleading in all circum - stances. This directive has not yet been transposed into French law, which must be done before 27 March 2026. 2.7 Disclosures In principle, claims must be truthful and clear, without the need to add a disclaimer or a corrective statement. In cases when there is an obligation to make legal statements, or when it is nevertheless a good practice to make a corrective statement or a disclaimer, the ARPP has issued ethical rules to make sure that such statements are understandable for consumers. Such statements must be displayed horizontally and use characters that are of sufficient size, normally spaced, in a font that is easy to read (without this font neces - sarily being uniform throughout the advertisement), and in a colour that contrasts with that used for the
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