FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Diane Bandon-Tourret and Agathe Clarac, LexCase
it should have carried out unannounced inspections or inspections motivated by factual circumstances, which could have enabled it to detect the defective - ness of the product (Court of Cassation, 31 January 2024, No 22-22.619; Court of Cassation, First Cham - ber, 5 June 2024, No 2312854). In matters of tort, the defendant may be exonerated in the event of fault on the part of the victim or force majeure. 2.13 The Impact of Regulatory Compliance on Product Liability Claims Regarding product liability, the producer is automati - cally liable unless he/she can prove that the defect is due to the product’s compliance with mandatory legislative or regulatory rules. It should be empha - sised, however, that the producer may be liable for the defect even though the product was manufactured in compliance with the rules of the trade or existing standards, or if it was the subject of an administrative authorisation. Compliance with regulatory requirements may also be asserted by the defendant in an action based on tort if the alleged fault consists of a breach of the regula - tions. 2.14 Rules for Payment of Costs in Product Liability Claims In matters of liability and at the end of the proceed - ings, the costs incurred may, under certain conditions, be charged to the unsuccessful party. Article 695 of the CPC lists the costs, which notably include: • bailiff’s fees incurred in serving the summons, pleadings and judgment; • the taxable fees of the lawyers appearing in the case, where their involvement is compulsory, calculated on the basis of the value in dispute and made up of the fixed fee, the proportional fee and the graduated fee; • the costs of judicial expertise; and • compensation received by the winning party’s law - yer under the legal aid scheme.
In his/her decision, the judge will rule, notably in accordance with the provisions of Article 696 of the CPC, that: • the losing party must pay the costs; or • by reasoned decision, all or part of the costs must be borne by another party (in particular where a party is only partially successful, or in view of the nature of the dispute). In all cases, the judge shall consider the fairness or economic situation of the convicted party. 2.15 Available Funding in Product Liability Claims No litigation funding exists in France. If the claimant’s financial resources are insufficient for a trial before a French court, he or she may be entitled to financial assistance from the state, known as aide juridiction- nelle . 2.16 Existence of Class Actions, Representative Proceedings or Co-Ordinated Proceedings in Product Liability Claims Collective Action Group action was introduced in France by the Con - sumer Act 2014-344 of 17 March 2014, and it allows victims of the same damage caused by a professional to group together and take legal action. The plaintiffs can thus defend themselves with a single file and a single lawyer. Group action was updated through several laws and was extended to several areas. A group action can be launched in the following areas: • consumer and anti-competitive practices; • health; • environment; • protection of personal data; • discrimination in the workplace; and • property rental. Recently, Law No 2025-391 of 30 April 2025, known as the DDADUE Law, has radically reformed group action in France, transposing European Directive 2020/1828 and introducing a unified, broader and more acces - sible system for the collective defence of rights.
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