DGCCRF injunction: responding to a French compliance order

What is a DGCCRF or DDPP injunction?

A DGCCRF or DDPP injunction is a compliance order issued by the French consumer authority. It requires a business, within a time limit set by the authority, to comply with its obligations, to stop an unlawful practice or to remove an unlawful or prohibited contract term. It can only be issued after an adversarial procedure, it may carry a daily penalty, and it may be made public at the business's expense.

Updated: November 2026. Key provisions: Articles L. 521-1, L. 521-2 and L. 532-1 of the French Consumer Code, as amended by Law No. 2025-594 of 30 June 2025.

The DGCCRF (the French authority for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control) acts through its national investigation service and through local offices: the DDPP (departmental directorate for the protection of populations) and the DREETS (regional directorate for the economy, employment, labour and solidarity). The daily penalty attached to an injunction can reach €3,000 per day and €300,000 in total or, where the breach carries a fine of at least €75,000, 0.1% of worldwide turnover per day, capped at 5%. It runs from the day after the compliance deadline. Failing to comply also exposes the business to an administrative fine of up to €15,000 for an individual and €75,000 for a company. A challenge before the administrative court must be filed within two months of notification (Article R. 421-1 of the French Code of Administrative Justice), with two extra months for persons residing outside France (Article R. 421-7). The decisive step comes earlier: your written answer to the letter announcing the injunction. That is where a lawyer for DGCCRF and DDPP inspections can change the outcome.

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How the injunction procedure works

Step 1 - The inspection and the inspection report

Everything starts with an inspection by DGCCRF, DDPP or DREETS agents: a visit to your premises, a check of your website or a request for documents. When the agents find a breach or an offence, they record it in a written report (procès-verbal). The report describes the facts and the provisions concerned, often with screenshots or photographs. It is the factual basis of everything that follows.

Managers and employees may also be interviewed. A summons is not a formality, and what is said can be used later: see our article on why a DGCCRF, DDPP or DREETS summons is not a formality.

Step 2 - The pre-injunction letter and your observations

Article L. 521-1 allows an injunction only "after an adversarial procedure". In practice, the authority sends a letter setting out the breaches found, the measures it intends to order and the time limit for your written observations. That time limit is the one stated in the letter. The Consumer Code sets no minimum period, and the time given is often short.

If the authority intends to publish the injunction, it must tell you at this stage the nature and terms of the publication envisaged (Article L. 521-2). The same rule applies to the publication of a daily penalty if the injunction is later not carried out.

This is when the file can still change. Your observations can point out factual errors in the report, question whether the provisions relied on apply to your business, and show what has already been corrected and when. A precise and dated compliance plan is more convincing than a general denial. What to concede, what to contest and which documents to send should be decided with counsel before the deadline.

Step 3 - The injunction decision

Once the time limit for observations has expired, the authority takes its decision. Under Article R. 521-1 of the Consumer Code, the competent authority is the head of the DGCCRF's national investigation service, the director of the DREETS or the director of the DDPP, who may delegate signature to senior officials. The decision:

• lists the breaches found;
• sets a reasonable time limit for compliance, chosen by the agents (the law sets no fixed period);
• describes the measures required;
• states the amount of the daily penalty, if there is one;
• should state how and within what time limit it can be challenged.

From notification, the injunction must be carried out. Challenging it does not suspend it, unless a court orders a suspension.

Typical breaches behind an injunction

Misleading commercial practices

Misleading commercial practices (Articles L. 121-2 to L. 121-4 of the Consumer Code) cover misleading statements as well as misleading omissions. Typical examples:

• a price that leaves out delivery charges or other costs the consumer will have to pay;
• health, performance or environmental claims with no evidence behind them;
• fake reviews, or paid reviews presented as spontaneous;
• essential information hidden or unclear, such as a refurbished product sold as new.

The injunction then typically requires you to change the advertising or the terms and conditions, display complete price information and withdraw unsupported claims. Misleading practices are also a criminal offence, covered below.

Online consumer reviews

Any business that collects, moderates or publishes consumer reviews online, even as a side activity, must give users fair, clear and transparent information on how reviews are published and processed (Article L. 111-7-2). It must:

• state whether reviews are checked and, if so, describe the main features of the check;
• show the date of each review and of any update;
• tell consumers whose review was not published why it was rejected;
• offer, at no charge, a feature allowing those whose products or services are reviewed to report a reasoned doubt about a review's authenticity.

Breaches carry an administrative fine of up to €75,000 for an individual and €375,000 for a company (Article L. 131-4). Publishing fake reviews is a separate issue: it can amount to a misleading commercial practice.

The consumer mediator

Every business must give consumers the contact details of the consumer mediator or mediators it falls under, in the manner set by decree, and repeat that information when a complaint made directly to the business has not been resolved (Article L. 616-1). Breaches carry a fine of up to €3,000 for an individual and €15,000 for a company (Article L. 641-1). Common issues: no mediator named on the website or in the terms and conditions, a mediator who is not on the official list of consumer mediators, or no information given after a written complaint.

Other common grounds

• Pre-contractual information required by Articles L. 111-1 to L. 111-3: fine of up to €3,000 for an individual and €15,000 for a company (Article L. 131-1).
• Right of withdrawal in distance and off-premises sales, its exercise and its effects (Articles L. 221-18, L. 221-21 and L. 221-23 to L. 221-27): fine of up to €15,000 and €75,000 (Article L. 242-13).
• Unfair terms on the regulatory "black list" in consumer contracts: fine of up to €15,000 and €75,000 (Article L. 241-2).

These amounts still matter after the injunction. Under Article L. 532-1, the fine for not complying is capped at €15,000 for an individual and €75,000 for a company, but that cap is raised to the fine incurred for the original breach when it is higher. For an injunction on online reviews, a company that does not comply therefore faces up to €375,000.

How to respond when you receive an injunction

1. Read the report and the decision line by line

• Which breaches are alleged, exactly? Are the facts accurate and complete?
• Do the provisions cited apply to your business? Some rules protect consumers only, not business customers.
• What is the compliance deadline, and is it realistic given your resources and suppliers?
• Is there a daily penalty, and how much is it?
• Is publication ordered, and in what form?
• What will compliance cost, internally and externally?

Note the date of notification. The two-month time limit for going to court runs from it, and the compliance deadline usually does too.

2. Build a compliance plan

If the injunction is justified, in whole or in part, prepare a plan that is precise, realistic and dated, with intermediate milestones, a named person in charge and the evidence you will produce. "Improve the reviews page" is not a plan. "Publish a review policy stating whether and how reviews are checked, display the date of each review, add a reporting feature and train the two people who moderate reviews, by 15 January" is.

If a deadline cannot be met for reasons outside your control, such as a supplier or a software provider, ask for more time before it expires, in writing, with evidence. A vague request is unlikely to succeed.

3. Document and prove compliance

The authority may check compliance by visiting your website, placing orders or asking for documents. Keep:

• dated screenshots of your website before and after each change;
• a change log with exact dates;
• updated terms and conditions, with version dates;
• invoices and reports from service providers who made technical changes;
• records of staff training;
• a short compliance report signed by management.

When compliance is complete, tell the authority in writing and send the evidence. If the deadline is missed, the daily penalty is assessed on the period of late or partial compliance, so you must be able to prove the date on which you complied.

What a lawyer does at each stage

• Before the injunction: review of the report, written observations on the pre-injunction letter and a compliance plan the authority can rely on.
• During the compliance period: checking that the measures match the order, exchanges with the authority, and a reasoned request for more time when there is a genuine obstacle.
• After the decision: deciding whether a challenge is worthwhile, choosing the remedy and drafting the application.

Challenging an injunction

An injunction is an administrative decision. You can ask the authority to reconsider it, or go directly to the administrative court. None of these steps suspends the injunction: the compliance deadline keeps running and the daily penalty can accrue.

Request for review and hierarchical appeal

You can ask the official who signed the injunction to withdraw or amend it (recours gracieux), or ask that official's hierarchical superior to do so (recours hiérarchique). Both are optional. If filed within the two-month time limit for going to court, they interrupt it (Article L. 411-2 of the French Code on Relations between the Public and the Administration). Two months of silence from the administration amounts to a rejection (Article L. 231-4 of the same code), and the two-month period then starts again.

If you want to use both, file both within the initial two months: the time limit for going to court restarts only once both have been rejected (Article L. 411-2). Do not assume that a request filed later will stop the clock again. Who the hierarchical superior is depends on who signed the decision.

Application to the administrative court

The application to the administrative court (tribunal administratif) must be filed within two months of notification (Article R. 421-1 of the French Code of Administrative Justice), or of the rejection of an administrative request filed in time. If you reside outside France, two months are added when the court sits in metropolitan France (Article R. 421-7).

Because the injunction remains in force during the proceedings, you can also ask the urgent applications judge to suspend it (référé-suspension). Two conditions apply: urgency, and a ground that creates serious doubt as to the legality of the decision. The request must accompany an application to annul or vary the decision (Article L. 521-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice).

Grounds commonly raised include errors of fact, misapplication of the law, a deadline or measures out of proportion to the breach, and a defective adversarial procedure. Which grounds fit your case is a matter for counsel.

What happens if you do not comply

The administrative fine

Failing to comply within the time limit carries an administrative fine of up to €15,000 for an individual and €75,000 for a company, raised to the fine incurred for the original breach when that is higher (Article L. 532-1). The fine follows the procedure that applies to all DGCCRF administrative fines: a copy of the report is sent to you (Article L. 522-4), you are told in writing of the intended sanction and of your right to be assisted by counsel, and you have one month to submit written and, where relevant, oral observations (Articles L. 522-5 and R. 522-2). That fine can itself be challenged before the administrative court.

The daily penalty (astreinte)

• Amount: up to €3,000 per day, stated in the injunction itself.
• Total cap: €300,000.
• Turnover-based penalty: where the breach carries a fine of at least €75,000, up to 0.1% per day of the company's worldwide turnover, excluding tax, for the last closed financial year, and 5% in total. For a company whose accounts are consolidated, the consolidated turnover of the parent company is used.
• Start: the day after the compliance deadline expires.
• Liquidation: if the injunction is not carried out, or is carried out partly or late, the authority can liquidate the penalty after an adversarial procedure, taking the circumstances into account.

Example: with a daily penalty of €500 and compliance achieved 150 days late, the liquidated amount can reach €75,000. The authority sets the final figure in light of the circumstances.

For a group based abroad, note that the turnover-based penalty is calculated on worldwide and, where relevant, consolidated turnover, not on French sales.

Publication (name and shame)

The injunction can be made public at the business's expense (Article L. 521-2). Publication is not automatic. You must be told of the publication envisaged and its terms during the adversarial procedure, which is the time to discuss it: cooperation, prompt correction and the absence of repeat breaches are all relevant. Publication can be made in the press, online or by a display at places stated in the decision, and these can be combined. It can cover all or part of the measure or take the form of a notice, and may come with a message warning the public about the practices found. A display cannot last more than two months (Article R. 521-2).

If you do not publish when required, a daily penalty of up to 0.05% of worldwide turnover can apply until publication, or €1,500 per day if turnover is not known. The total is capped at 2% of worldwide turnover or, if turnover is not known, €150,000. Where the injunction carries a daily penalty, the failure to comply and each liquidation of the penalty can also be published (Article L. 521-2).

Online publication is picked up by search engines. For a business that sells online, the reputational cost can exceed the fine.

Criminal exposure

Failing to comply with an injunction is not in itself a criminal offence: it is punished by the administrative fine of Article L. 532-1. The underlying practice may be one, however. Misleading commercial practices carry two years' imprisonment and a €300,000 fine for individuals, raised to five years and €750,000 when committed online (Article L. 132-2). Companies face up to five times the fine applicable to individuals (Article 131-38 of the French Criminal Code). The facts can be reported to the public prosecutor regardless of the injunction.

Preventing an injunction

An internal compliance review before any inspection costs less than corrections made under a deadline. Points to check:

• Website and prices: total price, delivery charges, price reductions, readable terms and conditions.
• Consumer rights: withdrawal information and form, guarantees, delivery times you can actually meet.
• Online reviews: a published review policy, dates displayed, reasons given for rejected reviews, a reporting feature.
• Consumer mediator: named, with contact details, on the website and in the terms and conditions.
• Claims: written evidence for every health, performance or environmental claim.
• Records: a log of checks, changes and corrections, useful if an inspection follows.

A simple compliance programme helps: one person in charge, written procedures, periodic checks of the website and training for marketing and customer service teams. It does not prevent an inspection, but it shows good faith.

Frequently asked questions

I have received a pre-injunction letter from the DGCCRF. What should I do?

Take it seriously: it is your last chance to shape the decision. You have the time limit stated in the letter to submit written observations and, ideally, a dated compliance plan. Without an answer, the injunction will in practice rest on the inspection report alone. Have the letter and the report reviewed by a lawyer straight away.

How long do I have to comply with a DGCCRF injunction?

The time limit set in the injunction. Article L. 521-1 requires it to be reasonable but sets no fixed period. The daily penalty, if any, runs from the day after it expires.

Can I ask the DGCCRF for more time to comply?

Yes, before the deadline expires, in writing and with evidence of a genuine obstacle: a supplier, a software provider, a contract that cannot be changed sooner. A documented request is sometimes accepted; a vague one is not.

Can I keep trading while I comply?

In most cases, yes. An injunction requires you to correct a practice, not to close. Read the decision carefully, however: separate measures exist, for example for dangerous products, and they work differently.

Does an appeal suspend a DGCCRF injunction?

No. A request for review, a hierarchical appeal or an application to the court does not suspend it. Only the urgent applications judge can do so, if there is urgency and a serious doubt as to its legality (Article L. 521-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice). In the meantime, the daily penalty can accrue.

How is the DGCCRF daily penalty calculated?

The daily amount stated in the injunction, multiplied by the number of days of non-compliance after the deadline, within the caps: €3,000 per day and €300,000 in total, or 0.1% of worldwide turnover per day and 5% in total where the breach carries a fine of at least €75,000. The authority takes the circumstances into account when it liquidates the penalty.

Will the injunction be published?

Not automatically. The authority can order publication at your expense, but it must tell you its intention and the terms during the adversarial procedure (Article L. 521-2). That is the moment to argue against it or to limit it. If publication is decided, prepare what you will tell customers and partners.

Our company is based outside France. Can the DGCCRF issue an injunction against us?

If you sell to consumers in France, French consumer rules generally apply to those sales and the authority can address an injunction to you, even without an establishment in France. Enforcement abroad depends on the country, but publication and the effect on your French customers and partners are immediate. The time limit for going to court is extended by two months for persons residing outside France (Article R. 421-7 of the Code of Administrative Justice).

Can I challenge the fine for not complying with an injunction?

Yes. You have one month to submit observations before the decision (Article R. 522-2 of the Consumer Code), then two months to ask for a review or apply to the administrative court after it.

What kind of lawyer should I contact?

A lawyer who regularly handles DGCCRF, DDPP and DREETS procedures, in consumer law and administrative law. Involvement at the pre-injunction stage is the most useful: the scope of the injunction, the deadline and publication are still open. At Victoris, meetings can be held in English.

Key actions

• Pre-injunction letter received: note the deadline, have the report reviewed and answer in writing with a dated plan.
• Injunction received: note the notification date, start compliance work at once, document every step and decide within two months whether to challenge it.
• During the compliance period: keep to the deadline, ask for more time in writing if there is a genuine obstacle, and tell the authority when compliance is complete.
• Afterwards: keep the measures in place; the authority may check again.

Article written by Guillaume Leclerc, lawyer at the Paris Bar, 34 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris. Working languages: French and English.