FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Diane Bandon-Tourret and Agathe Clarac, LexCase
available single points of contact for direct com - munication for market surveillance authorities and for the public). Market surveillance authorities may also order these providers to withdraw or make inaccessible the online interface or to display an explicit warning on dangerous products. They must respond to these government orders and third- party notifications as soon as possible and ensure that the withdrawn listings cannot reappear. 1.4 Obligations to Notify Regulatory Authorities One of the major innovations of the GPSR is the estab - lishment of a harmonised recall procedure, which is initiated by the economic operator who has identified a product that does not comply with the requirements. Operators must alert consumers and authorities. • After identifying the risk, which requires processing reports from multiple sources, operators must now inform the authorities via the Safety Business Gate- way, and consumers by all appropriate means. • The use of customer data is permitted in accord - ance with the General Data Protection Regulation for direct contact. If this is not possible, commu - nication must be carried out through alternative channels, namely: (a) websites; (b) social networks; (c) points of sale; and (d) mass media. Economic operators must also provide consumers with a recall notice containing mandatory informa - tion, including a clear description of the product, the hazards associated with its use, the measures to be taken by consumers, the remedies available and the contact details of the economic operator responsible for the recall. Unless it is materially impossible, the economic oper - ator shall offer the consumer at least the following options of compensation. • repair of the product (though only if the safety of the product can be guaranteed), with the neces - sary instructions and parts provided free of charge;
• replacement with an equivalent product, with ship - ping costs borne by the operator; and • refunds at least equal to the purchase price, with - out the need for proof of purchase. These solutions must be implemented in a simple, effective and free manner to maximise consumer par - ticipation in recall operations, and additional incen - tives may be offered, such as vouchers. Under French law, these provisions are supplemented by the legal guarantee of conformity. The new GPSR is now the reference regulation for product recalls. The French Consumer Code reiterates the obligation to issue a digital recall notice on the dedicated website. In addition, when withdrawal or recall measures are implemented, professionals draw up and keep up to date a quantified statement of the products withdrawn or recalled, which they make available to authorised agents. Specific obligations are also set out for certain types of products, in particular food and health products. 1.5 Penalties for Breach of Product Safety Obligations Member states are responsible for determining the penalties applicable in the event of non-compliance. The penalty system in France is based on a two- pronged approach, recently strengthened by DDA - DUE Law No 2024-364 of 22 April 2024. Failure by an economic operator to report information is now punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to EUR150,000 for a natural person, EUR750,000 for a legal entity or 10% of the average annual turno - ver for a company (Articles L. 451-1 and L. 451-6 of the Consumer Code). Article L. 132-4 of the Consumer Code provides for additional penalties, such as posting or distributing the decision or a press release to inform the public. Following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 in May 2023 on general product safety, which applies from 13 December 2024, Article 2 of Law No 2024- 364 of 22 April 2024 containing various provisions for adapting to EU law in the fields of economics, finance, ecological transition, criminal law, social law and agri - culture (known as the DDADUE Law) transposed the
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