France bans unsolicited telemarketing calls under new consent rules, starting today (Aug 11)

France has just introduced a major change to its telemarketing rules. Unsolicited commercial calls are now banned by default from today, August 11.

Under the new system, companies can only make marketing calls to individuals if they have prior consent or if the call is related to an existing contract. The change applies across sectors and also covers calls made through third parties.

Before this, France was operating on an opt-out model. Consumers could add their numbers to the Bloctel do-not-call register. Businesses could generally make unsolicited calls unless the consumer had opted out. However, Bloctel will now cease to operate as the new rules take effect.

Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous and revocable. Businesses also have to be able to prove that they received valid consent. It can be collected through a form, during a purchase or during an in-store visit, for example. Consumers can withdraw it at any time.

It's important to note that there are still limits on permitted calling hours. Commercial calls are generally restricted to weekdays between 10 am and 1 pm and between 2 pm and 8 pm. A consumer can explicitly agree to a specific call outside those periods.

As per the French government's estimate, around three-quarters of people in the country receive at least one unsolicited sales call each week. This issue is one of the most common consumer complaints.

As expected, consumer groups love this move. However, Que Choisir has warned that aggressive sales operations could simply shift to other methods, such as door-to-door visits. The rules come from France's Law No. 2025-594, passed in June 2025. Businesses have roughly a year to prepare for the switch from opt-out to opt-in telemarketing.