French consumer authority (DGCCRF, DDPP) inspections: lawyer in Paris

Key points

• Who inspects. The DGCCRF (the French authority for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control) designs national investigations and decides on sanctions. The DDPP, its local branch in each département, visits businesses and records findings. The DREETS handles business-to-business matters, including supplier payment terms.
• Refusing an inspection is a criminal offence. What is handed over, in what form and with which reservations remains a legal decision, not a formality.
• The inspection report is evidence until proven otherwise. This is why what is said and produced in the first days matters so much.
• No administrative fine without a written adversarial phase. The authority must send the report, state the intended sanction in writing and invite observations. This is when the amount, the legal qualification and the publication can still be discussed.
• A voluntary interview (audition libre) is part of a criminal procedure. The person heard must be told of the suspected offence and has the right to remain silent and to be assisted by a lawyer. Statements can be used against the company and its managers.
• Two months to challenge a decision. An administrative sanction can be challenged before the administrative court within two months of notification; the time limit is extended for persons residing outside France.

You have just been inspected, summoned or notified of a proposed fine?

The first call, by video or phone, identifies which deadlines are running and what should not be sent before it has been reviewed. Fixed fee from €250 excluding VAT. Meetings can be held in English.

Book a consultation:

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR ONLINE CONSULTATION

Why foreign companies and executives call us

Many of our files involve a company or a manager based outside France: a foreign supplier whose French customer is under investigation, an online seller shipping to French consumers from abroad, or an executive living abroad who receives a summons from a French authority. French consumer and commercial law applies to sales made to customers in France, wherever the seller is established. The procedure is in French, the time limits are short, and the first written answers shape the whole file.

We explain each step in English, handle the exchanges with the authority in French, and coordinate with your in-house team or local counsel.

How we work

1. First call. Twenty to thirty minutes to understand your business and the procedure: what is running, what must be preserved, what should not be sent yet. You receive the list of documents to gather.
2. Review of practices and documents. Order forms, terms and conditions, website, advertising, sales scripts and customer reviews. You receive a note separating what must be corrected now from what can be argued.
3. Answer to the request for documents. Selection of documents and a cover letter explaining how the company is organised and what has already been corrected.
4. Interview preparation. A working session on the questions investigators usually ask, and attendance at the interview if you wish.
5. Adversarial phase. Written observations on the proposed injunction or fine, within the deadline set by the authority.
6. Appeals. Request for review, action before the administrative court, urgent suspension, challenge of the payment order.

What the DDPP checks

• Misleading or aggressive commercial practices: advertising, price reductions, sales terms, online checkout.
• Price information and pre-contractual information: mandatory information on quotes, invoices and terms and conditions.
• Consumer contracts: right of withdrawal, unfair terms, consumer mediator.
• Product safety and compliance: labelling, CE marking, instructions in French.
• Restrictive practices between businesses: significant imbalance, sudden termination of established commercial relationships.
• Environmental claims: evidence for green statements on products and marketing materials.

Supplier payment terms: DREETS inspections

Payment terms between businesses are checked by the DREETS on behalf of the DGCCRF. The inspection covers the last closed financial year: the authority reviews supplier invoices from the general ledger, measures late payments and proposes a fine of up to €2 million per legal entity, with publication of the decision. The file is decided during the inspection and during the 60-day adversarial phase that follows the notice of the proposed fine.

Indicative fees

The amounts below are orders of magnitude observed in comparable files. They are not an offer: the fee for your file is set out in a written engagement letter signed before work starts.

• Urgent first consultation after an inspection or a summons: fixed fee from €250 excluding VAT.
• Review of an inspection report with a written note: fixed fee from €700 excluding VAT.
• Preventive compliance audit: fixed fee from €700 excluding VAT.
• Interview preparation and attendance, observations before a fine, appeals: fixed fee or per phase, quoted in advance.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the DGCCRF and the DDPP?

The DGCCRF is the central authority, attached to the French Ministry of the Economy. The DDPP is its local level: its agents visit businesses and carry out the investigations. An inspection is conducted locally, but the sanction may be decided at another level. The DREETS, at regional level, deals with business-to-business matters, including payment terms.

Can a company refuse an inspection?

No. Obstructing agents is a criminal offence. The company can, however, be assisted by a lawyer, and the right to remain silent applies in a voluntary interview. What is produced, in what form and with which reservations should be decided with counsel.

Our company is established outside France. Does French law apply?

Yes, for sales made to customers in France. French authorities can send requests to a foreign company, summon its managers and publish sanctions. Enforcement abroad depends on the country, but the commercial and reputational consequences in France are immediate.

Can the publication of a sanction be avoided?

For most consumer law breaches, publication is not automatic: it depends on the seriousness of the facts, the company's conduct and the corrective measures taken, and it can be discussed during the adversarial phase. For late payment fines, publication is systematic.

Can we be assisted by a lawyer during a voluntary interview?

Yes. The person heard is informed of the suspected offence and has the right to remain silent and to be assisted by a lawyer. Statements made can be used against the company and its managers.

Do you work in English?

Yes. Calls, notes and reports can be in English. Exchanges with French authorities and courts are in French.

About the author

This page was written by Guillaume Leclerc, lawyer at the Paris Bar, SELARL Victoris, 34 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris. His practice focuses on commercial relationships and sales, and on defending companies and their managers during DGCCRF, DDPP and DREETS inspections. Working languages: French and English.

This page sets out a general framework and is not legal advice. The outcome of a file depends on the facts, the available documents and the assessment of the authority or the court.

What happens after an inspection

The procedure follows five stages. Knowing where you stand determines what can still be done.

1. The inspection and the report. Investigators record findings, take samples, copy documents and take statements. Their findings are written in a report that is evidence until proven otherwise. This is when what is handed over matters most.

2. Requests for documents. The authority can require documents, including from third parties who hold them: your logistics provider, your platform, your accountant. What is produced, in what form and with which reservations shapes the file.

3. The interview, if any. When the facts may constitute a criminal offence, managers can be summoned to a voluntary interview, with the right to remain silent and to be assisted by a lawyer.

4. The adversarial phase. Before any administrative fine, the authority sends the report, states the intended sanction in writing and invites observations. This is when the amount, the legal qualification and the publication can still be discussed.

5. The decision, then the appeal. The sanction can be challenged before the administrative court within two months of notification; the time limit is extended for persons residing outside France. A request for review to the authority or its hierarchy remains possible before or during that period.

These time limits are those of the general framework. The timetable that applies to you depends on the legal basis used by the authority and on the date of notification.