France’s legal landscape for collective redress has undergone a significant transformation with the publication of a new decree laying the groundwork for enhanced group actions and greater transparency in litigation funding.
This move, finalising the transposition of the European Representatives Action Directive, introduces a robust framework for accrediting associations – including foreign bodies – wishing to pursue collective claims.
The directive doesn’t set a standard approach to class actions across Europe, but sets a floor of requirements which each member state must meet as a minimum, from which they can go further.
As detailed in CMS’s 2025 Class Actions report, French class actions were first limited to consumer and competition disputes when introduced into French law.
Their scope then broadened in 2016 to include healthcare, discrimination, data protection and environmental disputes. In 2018, this was extended to housing rental claims, and a bill introduced in 2023, now passed as a decree in December, aims to further expand access to class actions.
The decree also mandates transparency from both these associations and their litigation funders, requiring them to maintain publicly accessible records of key funding terms.
As Amandine Gueret, partner at Hausfeld, observed: “These requirements are relatively similar to the practice that has been developed by the Competition Appeal Tribunal for UK collective proceedings, which has been an effective tool to allow the tribunal as well as class members to understand the adequacy of funding and confirm that the class representative remains in essential control of the proceedings for the benefit of the class.”
The hope, she says, is that such transparency will “encourage and facilitate meritorious claims and broader access to justice”.
For consumers, this is good news. The new rules lower the barriers to collective action, making it easier for individuals to band together and seek redress for mass harms. By clarifying the funding landscape and ensuring that class representatives – not funders – retain control, the law aims to protect consumer interests and prevent controversies that have sometimes plagued group litigation elsewhere, for example in the UK.
However, the reforms are not without their critics. Martin Le Touzé, a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in Paris and member of Le Club des Juristes, points out that “the 2025 law sets minimal rules, which do not cover collective actions other than statutory group actions – and it’s a missed opportunity”.
He stresses the need for “fundamental principles to guarantee how the party controlling the litigation conducts the proceedings, and to avoid conflicts of interest”.
The working group has proposed mandatory publication of key clauses in third-party funding agreements and a cap on funder remuneration, but the decree’s language remains “relatively imprecise”, particularly regarding what constitutes “main respective obligations” in funding contracts.
For businesses, this uncertainty is a double-edged sword. On one hand, greater transparency could deter frivolous claims and ensure only well-founded cases proceed. On the other hand, the lack of clarity around disclosure requirements and the potential for broad, well-funded class actions may increase companies’ litigation risk and financial liability.
Litigation funders are optimistic. Paul de Servigny, head of litigation funding at IVO Capital, welcomed the decree as providing “much-welcomed clarity to litigation funders, claimants and law firms”, and sees it as paving the way for “greater access to justice for consumers in France”.
He adds: “We look forward to working with government, the courts, claimants and their representatives and putting this decree into practice by supporting meritorious cases whilst ensuring that the interests of consumers are protected.”
The Global Legal Post will publish the Law Over Borders Class Actions Comparative Guide in 2026, produced in partnership with Sarah-Jane Dobson (Ashurst) and Guy Robson (Pogust Goodhead), who are both leading experts in this field.
Explore The Law Over Borders Guides for more insights into cross-border legal issues.
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