Established under Articles L 611-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code resulting from the transposition of Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution – consumer mediation is now a key mechanism for the amicable resolution of disputes between consumers and businesses.
It is an alternative to legal action, and its track record – after 10 years of implementation – is positive.
A right for consumers
Consumer mediation allows any consumer to use a free out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism to resolve a dispute with a business regarding the purchase of a product or service.
Scope of Application
Consumer mediation applies to:
- domestic or cross-border disputes,
- between a consumer and a business,
- arising from the performance of a sales contract or a service contract.
Consumer mediation does not apply to:
- disputes between businesses;
- to complaints filed by the consumer with the business’s customer service department;
- to direct negotiations between the consumer and the business;
- to conciliation or mediation attempts ordered by a court hearing the consumer dispute;
- to proceedings initiated by a business against a consumer.
An obligation for the business
The business must ensure that the consumer has effective access to a consumer mediation mechanism. To this end, the business must:
- establish its own mediation mechanism, or select a mediator listed by the Commission for the Evaluation and Control of Consumer Mediation (CECMC)—and, where applicable, enter into an agreement with the selected listed mediator;
- publish the name and contact information of this mediator on their website, in their Terms and Conditions, on their order forms, or, failing that, by any appropriate means.
In 2025, the DGCCRF inspected nearly 10,000 businesses to verify compliance with this obligation.
A Regulated Procedure
The mediation process is governed by several procedural steps:
- Mandatory prior complaint: The consumer must have attempted to resolve the dispute directly with the business by submitting a written complaint.
- Referral to the mediator: If the business does not provide a satisfactory response, the consumer may refer the matter to the competent mediator within one year of filing the complaint.
- Admissibility: The mediator has three weeks to rule on the admissibility of the case and must inform the consumer if the request is rejected.
- Proceedings: The process must be completed within a maximum of 90 days. The mediator may extend this period at any time in the event of a complex dispute.
- Outcome of mediation: The mediator proposes a solution, which is non-binding, so that the parties retain the freedom to accept or reject the solution proposed by the mediator.
This procedure is free of charge for the consumer, as the costs are borne by the business. The consumer may, however, seek assistance at their own expense (lawyer, consumer association).
Upcoming Changes
The revised European Directive (Directive 2025/2647/EU of December 16, 2025, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 30, 2025), applicable as of 2026 and to be transposed into French law by March 2028, introduces several major changes:
- An obligation for businesses to respond within 20 business days to any request for mediation, as their silence may be interpreted as a refusal.
- A simplification of the conditions for filing a claim to facilitate consumer access to the mediation system.
- The ability for mediators to use digital tools and to group similar disputes together to increase efficiency.
- Inclusion of e-commerce by extending its scope to professionals established outside the European Union when they target European consumers.
- An expansion of mediators’ scope of intervention, allowing them to examine pre-contractual elements, such as breaches of the pre-contractual information obligation.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding consumer mediation or, more generally, consumer law and communication.