It is definitively enshrined in French law: as of August 11, 2026, companies in France may only contact consumers by telephone for commercial purposes if they have given explicit prior consent. With this, France is switching from an opt-out to an opt-in regime for telemarketing, and the Bloctel do-not-call list is disappearing.

 

Ziptone previously reported on the vote in the French parliamentThe law was definitively adopted on 21 May 2025 and promulgated on 30 June 2025. The measure entails, among other things, that consent to call must be specific, informed, unambiguous, and revocable.

It is up to the company to demonstrate that such consent was obtained legally. Pre-ticked boxes or general agreements are no longer sufficient. Any contract resulting from an unauthorized conversation is void.

Because Bloctel, the French do-not-call register, loses its function with the opt-in, this service will be discontinued on August 11.

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The French retain some leeway. For instance, French companies may make contact within an ongoing contractual relationship, provided the conversation concerns that contract or additional or quality-improving services. A separate exception also applies to subscriptions to newspapers, periodicals, and magazines. Additionally, the opt-in applies only to consumers. B2B telemarketing remains permitted in France, subject to various conditions.

The French legislature had previously introduced a complete ban on telemarketing in specific fraud-prone sectors such as home modification and sustainability. The new law establishes fines for violations: 75.000 euros for a natural person and 375.000 euros for a legal entity, with an increase to 10 percent of the average annual turnover over the last three years.

France will ban telephone sales without prior consent from August 11, 2026. Bloctel will disappear, and the burden of proof will shift to companies.

(zip tone)

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Telemarketing under pressure; opt-in increasingly the starting point

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