FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Grégoire Bertrou and Delphine Grimond, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
2.2 Scope of Areas of Law to Which the Legislation Applies Under the prior regime, there were seven distinct regimes, each with varying conditions that could be restrictive. The reform is particularly transformative in consumer protection. For instance, article L. 623-1 of the French Consumer Code restricted class actions to breaches by professionals of their legal or contrac- tual obligations in connection with the sale of goods or the provision of services, including matters related to property rentals. However, this scope was insuf- ficiently inclusive. As such, it failed to cover claims brought by borrowers against banks that refused to modify borrowers’ insurance arrangements – conduct which, according to the Lyon Court of Appeal, did not fall within the definition of a service provision under the earlier text [Lyon Court of Appeal, 6 April 2023, n° 22/04864]. Since the Reform, there is no longer a specific legal regime for each field of law; accordingly, the regime governing class actions now applies uniformly across all areas of law without distinction. 2.3 Definition of Collective Redress/Class Actions Although Article 16 of the 2025 Law is situated within Chapter III, titled “Provisions Relating to Consumer Law”, the scope of the French class action regime has clearly been expanded beyond the confines of consumer-related disputes. The article expressly provides that individuals or legal entities placed in a similar situation may seek compensation for damages “regardless of their nature.” This represents a significant expansion of the mate- rial scope compared to previous legal frameworks. A class action may now be initiated for any breach, whether legal or contractual, committed by: • a professional acting in the course of their com- mercial or professional activity; • a public legal entity, such as a governmental body or a local authority; or • a private entity entrusted with the performance of a public service mission.
This expansion represents a significant departure from the earlier, sector-specific regimes, which limited class actions to narrowly defined legal fields and restricted compensation to certain types of loss, depending on the context. The new framework opens the door to class actions across a broader array of sectors previ- ously excluded, such as transportation, energy, and financial services. 3. Procedure for Bringing Collective Redress/Class Actions 3.1 Mechanisms for Bringing Collective Redress/Class Actions Class actions in France are now concentrated before a limited number of specialised judicial courts with exclusive jurisdiction. A Decree dated 16 July 2025 designated eight competent courts to hear class action cases: • Bordeaux, • Lille, • Lyon, • Marseille, • Nancy, • Paris, • Rennes, and • Fort-de-France. Although the reform aimed to enhance access to class actions, it did not maintain the simplified procedure previously outlined in Articles L. 623-14 and L. 623- 17 of the Consumer Code. This simplified route – designed for cases in which the group members were easily identifiable, such as when victims appeared in customer databases – has now been abolished. Today, a single procedural framework applies, allowing two distinct types of claims: actions seeking the cessation of unlawful conduct or actions seeking compensation for harm suffered. 3.2 Overview of Procedure Injunctive Relief In class actions seeking injunctive relief, several key features apply: • no proof of harm or intent is required;
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