France to ban cold calling without prior consent from August 11

France will ban cold calling – unsolicited commercial phone calls without a consumer's prior consent from August 11 under a new law backed by President Emmanuel Macron's government, in a move aimed at curbing intrusive marketing and protecting consumers from fraud.

Under the new rules, companies will no longer be allowed to contact consumers unless they have first obtained their explicit consent, which can be withdrawn at any time, according to Alice Vilcot, chief of staff at France's Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, Caliber.Az reports, citing Euronews.

Two exceptions will remain: companies may contact customers who have already given consent, such as during a purchase or by completing a form, and they may call regarding an existing contract.

The government says the legislation responds to years of consumer complaints. Officials estimate that around three-quarters of people in France receive at least one unsolicited sales call every week, with many receiving several.

The issue has also been highlighted by French content creator Micode, whose investigation detailed aggressive telemarketing practices and schemes designed to discourage victims from pursuing legal action.

In 2024, eleven consumer organisations jointly called for a complete ban on cold calling, describing unsolicited marketing calls as relentless harassment that had become a routine part of daily life.

Violations of the new law carry steep penalties. Individuals may be fined up to €75,000 per illegal call, while companies face fines of up to €375,000 per call.

France has introduced several restrictions on telemarketing over the past 15 years, including bans on calls from mobile numbers beginning with 06 or 07 and limits on calling hours. However, those measures applied only to specific sectors, such as energy-efficiency renovation and government-backed assistance programmes. The new legislation extends restrictions to almost all industries.

The reform also replaces France's previous opt-out system with a consent-based model. Under the old rules, consumers could register on a government platform to avoid receiving marketing calls.

Consumer group Que Choisir welcomed the reform but warned that some fraudsters could shift their activities to door-to-door sales, calling for tighter regulation of that practice as well.

The legislation has raised concerns in Morocco, where Employment Minister Younes Sekkouri warned lawmakers that up to 50,000 call centre jobs could be at risk. He said the sector has attracted about $100 million in investment and generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

Morocco has long been a major outsourcing destination for French companies because of its large French-speaking workforce, lower labour costs and relatively weak trade unions. According to Youssef Chraïbi, president of the Moroccan Outsourcing Services Federation, the French market has historically generated more than 80% of the sector's revenue, although pure telemarketing now accounts for only 15% to 20% of its activity.

Several other countries have adopted similar restrictions. Germany has required prior consent for telemarketing since 2009, while the Netherlands tightened its own rules last month. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom continue to rely on national "Do Not Call" registries that allow consumers to opt out of unsolicited marketing calls.         

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov