From 11 August 2026, the prior consent of all individuals in France will be required for any telephone marketing from any caller regardless of the sector.
Under the Law n° 2025-594 of 30 June 2025 on “Combating All Forms of Fraud Involving Public Aid”, telephone canvassing of individuals (whether carried out directly or through a third party) is prohibited unless the organisation has first obtained the individual’s prior consent.
In order to obtain consent, the caller must be able to demonstrate that it has obtained a valid consent. In so doing, the requirements for obtaining consent are those of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), i.e. it must be free, specific, informed, unambiguous and revocable.
The consumer’s explicit consent must therefore be obtained. In so doing, consent may be explicitly obtained during a purchase, an in-store visit or through a form, and the business must be able to provide evidence that such consent was given.
It is also prohibited to make the sale of a product or the provision of a service conditional upon the customer’s consent to telephone marketing.
Exceptions
Telephone marketing is permitted:
- Where the call relates to an existing contract and is connected with the subject matter of that contract. This may include:
- information or actions relating to the performance of the contract;
- offers of complementary products or services;
- offers designed to improve the service or its performance.
In so doing, if the consumer objects to continuing the communication, the business must immediately end the call and refrain from contacting the consumer again.
- Where communication is not commercial in nature (for example, charitable fundraising).
In both cases, and except where the call is necessary for the performance of the contract, the processing may be based on the organisation’s legitimate interests.
That said, at the time the telephone number is collected, the individual must:
- be informed that their telephone number will be used for “non-commercial” outreach purposes; and
- be able to object to such use easily and free of charge.
Previous rules
Before the Law n° 2025-594 of 30 June 2025 on “Combating All Forms of Fraud Involving Public Aid”, France operated under an opt-out regime, not an opt-in regime. In other words, a company could generally make marketing calls to consumers without prior consent, provided it complied with several conditions and unless a specific sectoral rule prohibited it. The consumer’s protection relied primarily on the right to object, notably through the Bloctel “do not call” register (that will cease to exist after 11 August 2026)
Other regulations applying to telemarketing
Since 1 March 2023, telephone marketing calls to consumers has been permitted only:
- Monday to Friday;
- from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
It is prohibited on:
- Saturdays;
- Sundays; and
- public holidays.
In addition, the same business may not contact, or attempt to contact, the same consumer by telephone more than four times within any 30-calendar-day period.
Nevertheless, a professional may solicit a consumer outside such days and hours where the consumer has given explicit consent to be contacted on a precisely specified date and at a precisely specified time, and the professional is able to provide evidence of such consent.
These requirements are in addition to existing restrictions relating to:
- Prohibition on marketing calls from numbers beginning with 06 or 07 (which are generally mobile phone numbers)
- The obligation to provide information to those who may be called when collecting a telephone number;
- The French data protection authority’s (CNIL) guidance on obtaining consent or recording an objection;
- The obligation to identify the organisation making the call;
- The ban on marketing in the sectors of energy-efficiency renovation and housing adaptation for disability and ageing.
- The ban on marketing relating to the Personal Training Account (CPF)
- The Direct marketing using automated calling systems, fax machines or electronic mail; and
- Unsolicited or fraudulent text messages (SMS spam) and unsolicited calls (voice spam), including calls or messages encouraging individuals to call premium-rate numbers or send premium-rate text messages.
Consequences of getting this wrong
Any contract concluded with a consumer following telephone canvassing conducted in violation of the provisions of this article shall be void.
Furthermore, non-compliance may result in administrative penalties. Failure to obtain the consumer’s consent or to comply with the prescribed calling days and hours is punishable by an administrative fine not exceeding €75,000 in the case of a natural person and €375,000 in the case of a legal person.
The offence of undue influence in the context of telephone canvassing is likewise subject to more severe sanctions.
The sanctions shall be published at the expense of the person sanctioned.
Conclusion
Clearly, in France, the laws around telephone canvassing are relatively restrictive and complex. Please do let the author know if you have any questions.
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