Repair rights page corrected: EU rules not yet law in France

Service Public has corrected its news page on the new repair rules (De nouvelles règles pour favoriser la réparation de vos appareils en panne), in an update dated 10 September 2026. The earlier version presented the rules as in force since 31 July.Service Public The corrected news page says that Directive (UE) 2024/1799 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 13 juin 2024 sur les règles communes favorisant la réparation des marchandises applies at European level since 31 JulyService Public, that national transposition work is under wayService Public, and that the provisions are not yet fully applicable in FranceService Public. The standing Service Public guarantee guide, verified 17 August 2026, already gives the post-guarantee right to repair against the maker for sale contracts concluded from 31 July 2026Service Public. The rules described will apply from transposition of the directive into French law for contracts the transposing provisions cover.Service Public

Once transposed, choosing repair over replacement of any consumer good during the two years of the garantie légale de conformité will bring a one-year extension of that guarantee, against six months today. Where a seller imposes replacement although repair was requested, the legal guarantee is renewed for two years from the replacement. The current Service Public guarantee guide confirms the 12-month extension on repair and the two-year renewal on imposed replacement.

After the garantie légale de conformité expires, a right to repair will be created for certain categories of technically repairable products. A European-level list, updated each year, currently covers about ten consumer goods, including vacuum cleaners, smartphones, digital tablets, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers. In case of breakdown of or damage to a product in these categories, the maker will have to offer a repair, which the consumer can therefore demand; the duty will run for 5 to 10 years after purchase depending on the product and spare part concerned. That out-of-guarantee repair will not necessarily be free, but it will have to be done at a reasonable price and within suitable times. Makers will have to ensure consumers can easily access their repair-service contact details, for example on their website or in the user manual, and to publish indicative prices for the most common repairs on a freely accessible website.

A maker will be able to refuse a repair only where it is impossible. The European Commission notes in a questions-and-answers document, currently available in English only, that impossible repair is not defined in the directive; a maker cannot invoke it for purely economic reasons such as the cost of spare parts, nor refuse solely because an earlier repair was done by a third party, another repairer or the consumer. In a dispute, the competent authorities and courts of the Member States decide whether the repair is impossible. The duty lies on makers in every EU country; sellers can bear it in exceptional cases, for example for products from makers outside the EU with no European agent or importer. A digital platform for finding a suitable repairer, a seller of refurbished products or community-repair initiatives is planned in each European country in 2027; in France the Ademe platform Épargnons nos ressources already lists repairers.

Legal basis: Directive (UE) 2024/1799 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 13 juin 2024; the stated rules are those of the Service Public news page as updated on 10 September 2026, read with the standing Service Public guarantee guide.