DDADUE Law Ushers in a New Era for Class Actions in France

Class actions have been introduced in a piecemeal fashion in France since 2014. They were originally limited to consumer protection prior to being extended in 2016 and 2018 to cover health products, environmental issues, personal data protection, anti-discrimination, and property rentals.

Despite these expansions, a parliamentary report in June 2020 highlighted that very few class actions had actually been filed since 2014 and recommended changes to make the French class action system more effective.

A major opportunity for a comprehensive overhaul arose with the EU Representative Actions Directive, adopted on November 25, 2020—which required EU Member States to transpose it by December 25, 2022. Although a first bill was approved by the National Assembly in March 2023 and by the Senate in February 2024, it was abandoned after the National Assembly was dissolved in June 2024.

The reform was ultimately achieved with the adoption of the new DDADUE Law on April 30, 2025.

It significantly broadens the availability of class actions in France by eliminating the previous patchwork of sector-specific class actions. Now, except for some specific health-related cases, class actions can be brought against any company and on any legal ground, provided that the represented parties (i.e., the victims) are in a similar situation and have suffered the same, or a similar, breach of the company's legal or contractual obligations.

The DDADUE Law also extends the legal standing to initiate class actions. Previously, only a limited number of entities could do so. Now, a wider range of representing parties (i.e., the claimants) can initiate class actions, including approved associations, non-profit associations, without the need for an approval, and qualified entities as defined by the directive. However, ad hoc associations (i.e., those created just for a specific case) are still not allowed to bring class actions.

These claimants can seek injunctive measures and/or compensation for any type of damage. The process still uses an "opt-in" system, but many procedural aspects are now harmonized. Notably, except in certain cases, it is no longer necessary to send a formal notice before starting a class action, and all class actions must be filed with specially designated civil courts ("Tribunal judiciaire").

The DDADUE Law also explicitly allows third-party funding of class actions, as long as the claimant remains independent from the funder. This is expected to make it easier for claimants to pursue class actions, especially in complex and costly cases that may involve expertise proceedings. Additionally, a new civil fine has been introduced for deliberate misconduct by the defendant. The amount of the fine depends on the seriousness of the misconduct and can be up to twice the profit gained by an individual, or up to five times the profit gained by a legal entity.

Finally, multinational companies operating in several EU Member States now face greater exposure to class actions in France as the enactment of the DDADUE Law enables qualified entities from other EU Member States to bring cross-border class actions before French courts.