French consumer law for UK online sellers: 2026 guide
Selling online to French consumers from the UK: 14-day withdrawal right, returns, legal guarantees, mediator, order button and DGCCRF fines explained.
Does French consumer law apply to UK online sellers?
Yes. If your UK company directs its online sales to France, your contracts with French consumers are subject to the mandatory rules of the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation), whatever your terms say about English law. That means a 14-day right of withdrawal counted from delivery, a two-year legal guarantee, a consumer mediator, a compliant order button and, since 19 June 2026, an online "withdraw from contract" function.
Updated: November 2026. Key provisions: Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 (Rome I); Articles 17 to 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels I bis); Articles L. 221-5, L. 221-14, L. 221-18 to L. 221-28, L. 217-3 to L. 217-8, L. 612-1, L. 616-1 and L. 521-1 of the French Consumer Code, as amended by Ordinance No. 2026-2 of 5 January 2026.
This guide is for directors of UK companies that sell online to customers in France, and for their French warehouses, subsidiaries and distributors. Your website was probably built for the UK market: a 30-day returns policy, items to be returned "unworn and in original packaging", a manufacturer warranty and an English law clause. French inspectors will read it as a website selling to French consumers. Victoris is a Paris law firm; English law is mentioned only to explain your position, and nothing here is advice on English law. All examples are fictitious. If your website or a French partner has received a request from the authorities, see our page for a lawyer for DGCCRF and DDPP inspections.
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Why French law applies to your French customers
Directing your activities to France
Before a French court, the law applicable to a consumer contract is set by the Rome I Regulation. Under Article 6(1), the contract is governed by the law of the country where the consumer has his habitual residence if the business pursues its activities there or, by any means, directs its activities to that country, and the contract falls within those activities. Article 2 adds that the law designated applies whether or not it is the law of a Member State, so the rule works the same way for a seller based in the UK.
Recital 24 states that the mere fact that a website is accessible is not enough, and that the language or currency a website uses does not constitute a relevant factor. It does treat as a factor the fact that the website solicits distance contracts and that a contract has actually been concluded at a distance. Other signs point the same way: delivery to France at French shipping rates, a "France" or "EU" section, customer service reachable from France, advertising aimed at French users. A fictitious Leeds womenswear brand with a "United Kingdom / France / EU" selector, delivery to Lyon in five working days and social media ads in French directs its activities to France. The French Consumer Code uses the same test in Article L. 231-1.
What your English governing law clause cannot do
A clause stating that "these terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales" is not void. Article 6(2) of Rome I allows a choice of law, but it may not deprive the consumer of the protection of the rules that cannot be derogated from by agreement in his country of residence. The French Consumer Code says so itself. Article L. 221-29 makes the chapter on distance contracts, including the right of withdrawal, a matter of public policy (ordre public). Article L. 232-3 protects the rights deriving from Directive 2011/83/EU, notwithstanding any contrary term, where the distance contract has a close connection with a Member State. Articles L. 232-1 and L. 232-2 do the same for unfair terms and for consumer goods guarantees.
Inspectors rarely argue about conflict of laws. What they object to is an English law clause combined with a returns policy that is less generous than French law, because the customer gets a false picture of their rights.
Which court can a French customer use?
A UK company is no longer domiciled in a Member State. For such a defendant, Article 6(1) of the Brussels I bis Regulation refers to national rules of jurisdiction, but it expressly preserves Article 18(1): a consumer may sue in the courts for the place where the consumer is domiciled, regardless of the domicile of the other party, where the business directs its activities to the consumer's Member State (Article 17(1)(c)). Article 19 restricts jurisdiction clauses agreed before the dispute, so a clause giving exclusive jurisdiction to the English courts will not, in general, bind a French consumer. Whether a French judgment can be enforced in the UK is a question of UK law, which we do not address. For a seller with real volumes in France, the practical risk lies in administrative inspections, fines and injunctions.
The 14-day right of withdrawal: where UK returns policies fall short
What you must tell French customers before they order
Article L. 221-5 of the French Consumer Code, as amended by Ordinance No. 2026-2 and in force since 19 June 2026, lists the information due before the contract. Point 7 requires the conditions, time limit and procedure for withdrawal, the model withdrawal form and, where relevant, the location of the online withdrawal function. Point 8 requires you to say, where relevant, that the customer pays for the return. Point 10 requires you to state when the right does not apply. The model form is the one annexed to the Code (Article R. 221-1). A UK returns policy usually describes a commercial policy ("we accept returns within 30 days") rather than the legal right. Under Article L. 221-20, if the withdrawal information was not given, the withdrawal period is extended by twelve months.
When the 14 days start, and the exceptions
Under Article L. 221-18, the consumer has 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract without giving any reason and without costs other than those provided by law. For goods, the period runs from receipt by the consumer or a third party they designate, other than the carrier; for several items delivered separately, from receipt of the last one. A 30-day or 60-day commercial policy comes on top of the legal right and cannot impose stricter conditions during the first 14 days.
The exceptions are listed in Article L. 221-28, including goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised (point 3) and sealed goods unsealed after delivery that cannot be returned for health protection or hygiene reasons (point 5). A fictitious Bristol skincare brand can refuse the return of a face cream whose seal has been removed, if it said so before the order, but not of a gift set that is still sealed. Sale items are not an exception.
Returns conditions that do not work in France
The consumer withdraws by sending the model form or any other unambiguous statement (Article L. 221-21). Requiring prior authorisation, a return number or a reason adds a condition the law does not provide. Requiring items to be "unworn" or "in original packaging" on pain of refusal confuses withdrawal with compensation for loss of value, which Article L. 221-23 governs separately. The table below sets out the clauses we see most often on UK websites.
The "withdraw from contract here" function, mandatory since 19 June 2026
Under the last paragraph of Article L. 221-21, in force since 19 June 2026, for distance contracts concluded through an online interface, the business must give the consumer, at no cost to them, a function to withdraw before the 14-day period ends. The older online withdrawal form remains optional; the new function is compulsory, and the law requires easy, direct and permanent access to it.
Article D. 221-5, introduced by Decree No. 2026-3 of 5 January 2026, sets the details. On a French-facing website, the function is labelled legibly "renoncer au contrat ici" (withdraw from the contract here) or with an equivalent unambiguous wording. It must be visible, directly and easily accessible, and available throughout the withdrawal period. The customer enters or confirms their name, the contract reference and the electronic address for the acknowledgement, then confirms through a button labelled "confirmer la rétractation" (confirm withdrawal) or an equivalent. You then send, within a reasonable time and on a durable medium, an acknowledgement stating the content of the withdrawal and the date and time it was sent.
Under Article 26 of the Ordinance, contracts in progress on 19 June 2026 remain governed by the previous rules. A returns portal reachable only after creating an account, hidden in an English-language FAQ, or blocked until the customer picks a reason, sits badly with these requirements. An inspector can test it in minutes from a computer in France.
Return costs, used items and refunds
Who pays for returns from France to the UK?
Under Article L. 221-23, the consumer sends the goods back within 14 days of notifying the withdrawal, unless you offer to collect them. The consumer bears only the direct cost of return, unless you agree to bear it or failed to tell them they would have to pay. If you do not mention the cost of a return to the UK, you pay it. A fictitious Manchester seller of hair dryers should either state that cost before the order or offer a return address in France or elsewhere in the EU. Customs formalities for returns are covered in a separate article of this series.
Worn clothes, used appliances
The consumer is liable only for diminished value resulting from handling beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods, and only if you informed them of the right of withdrawal (Article L. 221-23). Trying on a dress at home or switching on a hair dryer is necessary handling. A dress worn to a party and returned stained has lost value: you may claim or deduct an amount matching that loss, which you must be able to justify, but you cannot refuse the return.
Refund deadline and automatic surcharges
Article L. 221-24 requires you to refund all sums paid, including delivery costs, within 14 days of being informed of the withdrawal. For goods, you may wait until you receive the goods back or proof of dispatch, whichever comes first. You must use the same means of payment unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise and the refund costs them nothing, so store credit cannot be imposed. Only the extra cost of a more expensive delivery method chosen by the customer can be kept.
Late refunds trigger automatic surcharges under Article L. 242-4: legal interest for up to ten days of delay, then 5%, 10%, 20% and 50% by brackets up to ninety days, and five extra points for each further month, up to the price of the product. A customer who paid €89 for a dress plus €6.90 standard delivery and is refunded 45 days late can claim €95.90 increased by 20%, that is €115.08.
Legal guarantees: two years of conformity, plus hidden defects
You owe your French customers the legal guarantee of conformity (garantie légale de conformité). Under Article L. 217-3, you are liable for lack of conformity existing at delivery that appears within two years, including defects resulting from packaging or assembly instructions. Under Article L. 217-7, defects appearing within 24 months are presumed to have existed at delivery unless proven otherwise (12 months for second-hand goods). Article L. 217-8 entitles the consumer to repair or replacement or, failing that, a price reduction or termination. A 12-month manufacturer warranty does not replace this guarantee, and sending the customer to the manufacturer does not release you. Bad-faith obstruction of the guarantee can lead to a civil fine of up to €300,000, or up to 10% of average annual turnover (Article L. 241-5).
The French Civil Code adds the guarantee against hidden defects (Article 1641), with an action to be brought within two years of discovering the defect (Article 1648). Article L. 211-2 of the Consumer Code requires your terms to describe both guarantees and, where relevant, any commercial guarantee and after-sales service. Article D. 211-2 adds a mandatory box (encadré) based on the models annexed to the Code, which UK terms never contain. Missing guarantee information carries an administrative fine of up to €3,000 for an individual and €15,000 for a company (Article L. 241-2-1).
Consumer mediator: still mandatory. EU ODR link: no longer needed
Under Article L. 612-1, every consumer may use a consumer mediator (médiateur de la consommation) at no cost, and the business must guarantee effective access to a mediation scheme. Article L. 616-1 requires you to give the mediator's contact details, and to give them again when a complaint to your customer service has not settled the dispute. Under Article R. 616-1, they must appear visibly on your website, in your terms or on order forms, with the mediator's website address. Missing mediator information carries a fine of up to €15,000 for a company (Article L. 641-1). Choosing a competent mediator for a seller based outside France deserves careful review.
Many UK websites still link to the EU online dispute resolution (ODR) platform. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 of 19 December 2024 repealed Regulation (EU) No 524/2013, which created it. According to the European Parliament's Legislative Observatory, the repeal took effect on 20 July 2025, and new complaints could no longer be filed from 20 March 2025. You can remove the ODR link, but not the mediator details, which often sit in the same paragraph of the terms.
The order button and blacklisted terms
"Order with obligation to pay"
For contracts concluded electronically, Article L. 221-14 requires the button used to place the order to bear the clear and legible words "commande avec obligation de paiement" (order with obligation to pay) or an equivalent unambiguous wording. Directive 2011/83/EU uses the same English wording in Article 8(2). Payment methods and delivery restrictions must be shown at the latest at the start of the ordering process. On French-language pages, "Place order" or "Valider" does not meet the requirement. Article L. 242-2 makes the rule a condition of the contract's validity, and Article L. 242-10 adds an administrative fine of up to €75,000 for a company.
Blacklisted terms in imported terms and conditions
Article R. 212-1 lists terms that are irrebuttably presumed unfair, known as blacklisted terms (clauses noires). Three often appear in UK terms: a term giving the seller alone the right to decide whether the goods conform (point 4), a term excluding or reducing the consumer's right to compensation (point 6), and a term shifting to the consumer a burden of proof that should fall on the seller (point 12). "Colours may vary, images are for illustration only" belongs to this family when used to reject any complaint about conformity. A blacklisted term carries a fine of up to €75,000 for a company, which can rise to 4% of average annual turnover for widespread infringements handled through EU mutual assistance (Article L. 241-2).
French language
Article 2 of Law No. 94-665 of 4 August 1994 makes French compulsory in the description, offer, presentation, instructions and warranty terms of goods, in invoices and in advertising. A French version of your website that sends customers to English-only terms or instructions is open to findings on that basis. A separate article of this series covers the language rules.
How the DGCCRF checks a UK website, and what it can impose
The DGCCRF (the French authority for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control) and its local offices, the DDPP (departmental directorates for the protection of populations), inspect websites that sell to French consumers, wherever the seller is based. Inspections often start online: test purchases, time-stamped screenshots of the checkout, downloads of the terms, an attempt to withdraw. They frequently continue with your French partners, such as the warehouse, the subsidiary running customer service or the distributor, which receive document requests and may be invited to a voluntary interview (audition libre). Our article on why a DGCCRF interview is not a formality explains that step.
Before any administrative fine, the authority tells the company in writing which sanction it intends to impose, informs it that it may be assisted by counsel of its choice and invites written and, where appropriate, oral observations (Article L. 522-5). How to answer depends on the findings, the corrections already made and the structure of your group: this is the stage at which to involve a French lawyer.
Under Article L. 521-1, after an adversarial procedure, the agents may also order a business to comply, stop an unlawful practice or remove an unlawful term within a reasonable time. The injunction (injonction) may carry a daily penalty of up to €3,000, capped at €300,000. Where the breach carries a fine of at least €75,000, which is the case for most breaches in this guide, the daily penalty can instead reach 0.1% of worldwide turnover for the last financial year, capped at 5%; for consolidated groups, the consolidated turnover is used. Our guide to misleading commercial practices in France covers the related risk of misleading customers about their rights.
A 10-point check of your French-facing website
- Seller identity, postal address, telephone and email (Article L. 221-5, point 4).
- The legal right of withdrawal and the model form, not just a returns policy (L. 221-5, point 7; R. 221-1).
- A visible "renoncer au contrat ici" function, usable without logging in or giving a reason (L. 221-21; D. 221-5).
- No "unworn", "original packaging", prior authorisation or restocking fee as conditions (L. 221-18; L. 221-23).
- The cost of a return to the UK stated before the order (L. 221-5, point 8).
- Refunds within 14 days, delivery included, same means of payment (L. 221-24).
- The two-year guarantee and the guarantee box in the terms (L. 211-2; D. 211-2).
- A named consumer mediator, with contact details and website (L. 616-1; R. 616-1).
- "Commande avec obligation de paiement" on the order button (L. 221-14).
- No "images not contractual" used against complaints, no liability capped at the price, no exclusive English jurisdiction (R. 212-1; L. 232-1 and L. 232-3).
This list measures exposure. It does not say which group company answers for the breaches, how your French partners should respond to document requests or which corrections to make before or after the inspection report. Those questions depend on the facts.
Frequently asked questions
Does French consumer law apply if my online shop is based in the UK?
Yes, if you direct your activities to France. Article 6 of the Rome I Regulation then applies the law of the consumer's country of residence, and a choice of English law cannot remove the protection of the mandatory French rules.
Do I have to give French customers 14 days to return items?
Yes. The consumer has 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract without giving a reason, counted from receipt of the goods (Article L. 221-18). Without proper withdrawal information, the period is extended by twelve months (Article L. 221-20).
Can I charge a restocking fee or refund French customers with store credit?
No. The consumer bears no costs beyond those provided by law, essentially the direct cost of return if you said so before the order, and the refund uses the same means of payment unless the customer expressly agrees otherwise (Article L. 221-24).
Who pays return shipping from France to the UK?
The customer pays the direct cost of return only if you told them so before the order. Otherwise, you bear it (Article L. 221-23).
Is the "withdraw from contract here" button mandatory for UK sellers?
Yes, for contracts concluded online since 19 June 2026 (Articles L. 221-21 and D. 221-5). It must be labelled "renoncer au contrat ici" or equivalent, visible, directly accessible and available throughout the withdrawal period. Where your company is based makes no difference.
Do I still need a link to the EU ODR platform?
No. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 repealed the regulation that created it, with effect from 20 July 2025 according to the European Parliament. You must still name a consumer mediator (Articles L. 612-1 and L. 616-1).
What fines can the DGCCRF impose on a UK online seller?
Up to €75,000 for a company for breaches of the pre-contract information, withdrawal or blacklisted-term rules (Articles L. 242-10, L. 242-13 and L. 241-2), and up to €15,000 for missing mediator or guarantee information. An injunction can carry a daily penalty (Article L. 521-1).
Key points
A UK seller that targets French customers sells under French consumer law for everything that law makes mandatory, whatever its terms say, and French consumers can sue in their home courts. The risk concentrates on the withdrawal right and the "renoncer au contrat ici" function, return costs and refunds, legal guarantees, the consumer mediator, the order button and blacklisted terms. Most gaps can be fixed without changing your business model, provided you deal with them before an inspector records them. If your company wants its French-facing website reviewed, or has received a request from the DGCCRF or a DDPP, Victoris can assist, working with your UK advisers on any English law questions.
Article written by Guillaume Leclerc, lawyer at the Paris Bar, 34 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris. Working languages: French and English.
