FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Diane Bandon-Tourret and Agathe Clarac, LexCase
• Reasonable consumer expectations concern - ing safety. • Safety requirements adopted in accord - ance with Commission acts determining the specific safety requirement to be covered by European standards. In the area of liability, Council Directive 85/374/ EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provi - sions of the member states concerning liabil - ity for defective products was transposed into French law within the Civil Code after a certain delay. In French liability law, fault-based liabil - ity, which has a different basis from liability for defective products, is also frequently used in product safety matters, as the basis of hidden defects. Product safety issues also involve the criminal liability of the individuals and companies concerned, based on general or special criminal law offences. They may also give rise to financial penalties from the competent authorities. 1.2 Regulatory Authorities for Product Safety The DGCCRF The DGCCRF is the reference authority for prod - uct safety. The DGCCRF’s scope of intervention is very broad and covers a wide variety of prod - ucts. Indeed, the DGCCRF is also involved in all non-food products and services, and at all lev - els (production, import, and distribution). Action is stepped up in high-risk areas such as toys and childcare articles, sports and leisure activi - ties, and everyday accidents. Most of the safety actions are based on the expertise of labora - tories (Joint DGCCRF and Customs Laboratory Service). As part of the administrative co-operation organised by Regulation (EU) 2017/2394 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
12 December 2017 on co-operation between national authorities responsible for the enforce - ment of consumer protection laws and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, when a request for mutual assistance is made by a member state of the European Union or by the European Commission, the investigation, detection and cessation of infringements or breaches are car - ried out by the DGCCRF in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Code. Other Authorities Other authorities have jurisdiction depending on the products concerned. For example, in the area of food safety, while this mission was previ - ously shared between the Directorate-General for Food of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty (DGAl) and the DGCCRF, in mid- 2022 the DGAl was transferred the responsibili - ties of the DGCCRF, which since 1 January 2024 has taken on missions relating to food safety, and on the management of health crises or con - tamination. The French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) is responsible for monitoring the safety of health products regulated by the Public Health Code. It should be noted, however, that as part of the Finance Act for 2023, Decree No 2023-1113 of 28 November 2023 relating to the competent authorities for the supervision and vigilance of cosmetic and tattoo products removed cosmetic and tattoo products from the remit of the ANSM and the DGGCRF has been designated as the competent authority for inspection, control, and market surveillance missions. 1.3 Obligations to Commence Corrective Action The new GPSR clarifies the responsibilities of each economic operator in the supply chain.
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