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Selling to France: EU Compliance for PrestaShop Merchants

By Compliance Editorial Team Updated July 1, 2026 5 min read

France is one of the most demanding markets in the European Union for consumer protection and environmental compliance. If you run a PrestaShop store and ship to French customers, you must meet the same EU-wide regulations that apply everywhere in the bloc, then layer on French national transposition rules, language obligations and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) registrations. This hub explains what applies, who enforces it and where to go next.

Overview

Selling into France means operating under two layers of law. The first is the EU layer: regulations such as the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) and the Omnibus Directive apply directly or through national implementation across all 27 member states, so the baseline is the same whether you ship to Lyon or Lisbon. The second is the French layer: a well-developed body of national rules covering language, environmental responsibility and consumer information that is stricter and more detailed than in many neighbouring countries.

For a distance seller, the practical consequence is that “EU compliant” is necessary but not sufficient. France adds French-language requirements, extensive EPR obligations across many product categories, and the anti-waste rules of the AGEC law. Merchants who treat France as just another EU destination frequently discover gaps at exactly the points French authorities scrutinise.

Authorities

The central authority you need to know is the DGCCRF (Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes). It is the market-surveillance and consumer-protection body responsible for enforcing product safety, fair commercial practices, price transparency and information obligations. The DGCCRF carries out inspections, test purchases and online sweeps, and it publishes the results of thematic campaigns.

Environmental and EPR matters sit alongside consumer enforcement. ADEME (the French agency for ecological transition) oversees the EPR system and the unique identifier register. Product-specific EPR schemes (“éco-organismes”) such as CITEO for household packaging administer the day-to-day registration and reporting. Customs authorities also play a role at the border for imported goods.

DGCCRF – product safety, consumer information, price display and unfair practices.
ADEME – administers the EPR framework and issues the unique identifier (identifiant unique).
Éco-organismes (e.g. CITEO for packaging) – registration, contributions and reporting.

Applicable EU laws

The EU regulations below apply to your French sales. France transposes or applies each of them and, in several cases, adds national detail.

GPSR – the General Product Safety Regulation, setting safety, traceability and responsible-person rules for consumer products.
Omnibus – price-reduction transparency (the 30-day prior-price rule), review authenticity and clearer information duties.
PPWR – the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which interacts with France’s existing packaging EPR.
European Accessibility Act – accessibility requirements for e-commerce services and certain products.

For a France-specific walkthrough of product safety, see our GPSR in France guide.

National specifics

Language

The Toubon law requires that information addressed to French consumers be provided in French. In practice this covers product descriptions, essential characteristics, safety warnings, instructions for use, and the mandatory pre-contractual and contractual information a distance seller must give. Offering a French-language version of your PrestaShop storefront, and French safety and care information on the product itself, is the reliable way to comply. English-only listings for the French market are a common and easily spotted weakness.

EPR and the “filières REP”

France operates one of the broadest Extended Producer Responsibility systems in Europe. The “filières REP” cover many product streams – packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, furniture, textiles, tyres and more. If you place products or packaging on the French market, you may be treated as a producer for one or more streams and must register, obtain a unique identifier (identifiant unique) via ADEME, join the relevant éco-organisme, and report and pay contributions.

For packaging specifically, sellers shipping goods to French consumers typically need packaging EPR registration (for example via CITEO). Because the categories are wide and the thresholds and obligations differ by stream, confirm which filières apply to your catalogue before your first French shipment.

The AGEC anti-waste law

The AGEC law (loi anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire) adds circular-economy duties on top of EPR. Depending on the product, this can include environmental and repairability information for consumers, restrictions on destroying unsold goods, and specific labelling around sorting and disposal. Merchants selling relevant categories should check which AGEC obligations attach to their products.

Penalties & enforcement

France enforces actively. The DGCCRF conducts online surveillance, test purchases and coordinated inspection campaigns, and it can order corrective measures, require withdrawal or recall of unsafe products, and pursue penalties for misleading practices and information failures. EPR non-registration is treated seriously because it shifts environmental costs onto compliant competitors; authorities can require back-payment and impose sanctions.

Rather than quoting figures that change over time, treat the enforcement posture as the takeaway: France is proactive, publishes its priorities, and expects distance sellers to meet French-language and EPR duties from the outset. The reputational cost of a public enforcement action, plus the disruption of a forced product withdrawal, usually outweighs the effort of getting compliance right first.

Merchant checklist

Provide product information, safety warnings and instructions in French (Toubon law).
Confirm which REP filières apply to your products and register with ADEME for a unique identifier.
Complete packaging EPR registration (e.g. CITEO) before shipping to France.
Check AGEC obligations – repairability/environmental information and disposal labelling where relevant.
Meet GPSR duties: traceability, a responsible person in the EU, and clear safety information.
Apply Omnibus price-display rules, including the 30-day lowest prior price on reductions.
Keep documentation ready in case of a DGCCRF request or online sweep.

Next steps / related

National specifics change over time. Always confirm current French requirements with the DGCCRF and ADEME (and the relevant éco-organisme) before relying on this summary.