France

Franchise regulation

Pre-contractual disclosure is governed by the French Commerical Code.

Pre-contractual disclosure requirements

Franchisors must provide franchisee with a disclosure document containing information regarding; the franchisor, its franchise network, the market, the franchise agreement and financial information. This must be provided at least 20 days before execution. The disclosure document must include information on the national and local market for the sector in which the franchise operates.

Registration

No

Other issues

To constitute a franchise agreement under French law, the agreement must place certain obligations on the franchisor:

• licensing of IP to the franchisee;
• provision of substantial know-how; and
• supply of commercial and technical assistance.

Under the French Commercial Code, if there are provisions in the franchise agreement that are significantly imbalanced, the relevant clause can be held void and the franchisee would also be entitled to claim damages where it can demonstrate that the enforcement of the clause adversely affected its business.

Difficulty Rating/Comments

Provide franchisors use specialist companies to provide national and local market studies for the disclosure document.

Contact Alexandre Vuchot - [email protected]