Advertisements encouraging practices with excessive environmental impact

Verified 08 April 2026 - Entreprendre Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The advertisements encouraging practices with a excessive impact on climate or the environment are regulated. This concerns the incentive to degrade or discard products, or to buy biocidal or polluting products. These advertisements can be conditionally authorized or prohibited.

Advertisements or commercial communication actions to promote the disposal of products are authorized under conditions.

Example :

« Throw away your old dishwasher and buy our new equipment »

The condition is that these advertisements must must contain information encouraging reuse or recycling.

Example :

« Instead of throwing away [such product], give it away to give it a second life or focus on recycling.’

Warning  

Failure to comply with this obligation is penalized with a fine of a maximum amount of €3,000 for a natural person and €15,000 for a legal person.

The criminal liability of legal persons and that of their directors may be cumulated for the same acts. For example, a leader as a natural person may be held personally criminally liable, even if the company has already been convicted of the same acts.

A legal person may only be fined. The amount of the fine shall be multiplied by 5 compared to that provided for natural persons.

Any advertising or commercial communication action inducing degradation of products in normal working order and to prevent their re-use or re-use is forbidden.

Example :

Incentive to break, burn, dirty, erode, destroy, etc.

Failure to comply with this obligation is penalized with a fine of a maximum amount of €3,000 for a natural person and €15,000 for a legal person.

The criminal liability of legal persons and that of their directors may be cumulated for the same acts. For example, a leader as a natural person may be held personally criminally liable, even if the company has already been convicted of the same acts.

A legal person may only be fined. The amount of the fine shall be multiplied by 5 compared to that provided for natural persons.

Any advertising based on fact that a product contains little or no recovered waste is forbidden.

By way of derogation, advertisements based on this characteristic shall be permitted where the waste content valued (recycled, reused, etc.) the product impacts its substantial qualities (e.g. composition, color or use of the product, etc.).

Failure to comply with this obligation shall be considered as a deceptive business practice.

This offense is punishable by 2 years imprisonment and a fine from €300,000 (natural persons) or €1 500 000 (legal persons). These penalties may be increased depending on the benefits derived from the offense and if the offense was committed through the use of an online public communication service or through a digital or electronic medium.

Some additional penalties may also be pronounced.

The criminal liability of legal persons and that of their directors may be cumulated for the same acts. For example, a leader as a natural person may be held personally criminally liable, even if the company has already been convicted of the same acts.

A legal person may only be fined. The amount of the fine shall be multiplied by 5 compared to that provided for natural persons.

Any commercial advertising directed at the general public is forbidden for some categories of biocidal products.

The categories of biocidal products for which commercial advertising to the general public is prohibited are as follows:

  • Rodenticides : products used to control mice, rats or other rodents by means other than repelling or attracting them
  • Insecticides, acaricides and products used to fight others arthropods : products used to control arthropods (such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans), by means other than repelling or attracting them
  • Hazardous Products for the Aquatic Environment Category 1 : acute category 1 (H 400) and chronic category 1 (H 410) toxicity, which are:
    • Or disinfectants and algicidal products not intended for direct application to humans or animals: for swimming pools, aquariums, pond and other waters, air conditioning systems, walls and floors, chemical toilets, sewage, hospital waste, etc. This also applies to products incorporated in textiles, fabrics, masks, paints, etc.
    • Or used on surfaces in contact with food and feed: Products used to disinfect equipment, containers, consumer utensils, surfaces or conduits used for the production, transport, storage or consumption of food or feed (including drinking water) intended for humans or animals.

Please note

That does not apply biocidal products eligible for the simplified authorization procedure. The biocides that may be affected by this procedure are those containing no substance of concern, no nanomaterials, demonstrating sufficient efficacy, and do not require personal protective equipment for use.

Failure to comply with this obligation shall be punishable byfine for contraventions of 5e class, in an amount of €1,500 (natural persons) or €7,500 (legal persons).

The criminal liability of legal persons and that of their directors may be cumulated for the same acts. For example, a leader as a natural person may be held personally criminally liable, even if the company has already been convicted of the same acts.

A legal person may only be fined. The amount of the fine shall be multiplied by 5 compared to that provided for natural persons.

FYI  

By way of derogation, advertising directed at professional users shall be permitted in the distribution points of products reserved for such users and in the publications intended for them.

Advertising relating to the marketing or promoting of fossil fuels is forbidden.

This applies only to fuels with a renewable energy content of less than or equal to 50%.

Warning  

The ban on fossil fuel advertising is suspended pending the publication of its application decree.

Prohibition of compensation for an ecological penalty

Any form of advertising or communication offering a discount or reduction canceling or reducing for the final consumer the effect of the tax on carbon dioxide emissions from passenger vehicles (malus CO2 and malus mass) is prohibited.

Mandatory promotional messages

Any advertising in favor of land motor vehicles shall be must be accompanied by a promotional message encouraging the use of active mobility or shared or public transport.

This applies to advertisements for the following vehicles:

  • Passenger Vehicles with the exception of wheelchair accessible special purpose vehicles:
    • Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of persons and comprising, in addition to the driver's seat, a maximum of 8 seating positions (category M1), including in particular passenger cars
    • Vehicles designed and constructed for the carriage of goods with a maximum weight of 3,5 tons or less (category N1) of the body of the ‘pick-up truck’ with at least 5 seats, except those used exclusively for the operation of ski lifts and ski areas
    • Vehicle designed and constructed for the carriage of goods of a maximum weight not exceeding 3,5 tons (category N1) intended for the carriage of passengers and their luggage or goods
  • Motor vehicles with 2 or 3 wheels and motor quadricycles (category L): scooters, motorcycles, quads, etc.

All these vehicles, whether their motorization is thermal, hybrid, electric, or hydrogen, are concerned.

The obligation applies in and out of sales premises, and on the following advertising media :

  • Advertising correspondence for individuals
  • Advertising printed matter distributed to the public
  • Advertising Display
  • Advertisements appearing in press publications
  • Advertisements broadcast in the cinema
  • Advertisements issued by television or broadcasting services and by means of online communication services to the public.

This does not apply to financial advertising or recruitment, communication actions carried out in the context of sponsorship or patronage operations, as well as institutional communication by means of publication or on dedicated sites.

FYI  

The messages that can be used are:

  • « For short trips, prefer walking or cycling »
  • « Remember to carpool »
  • « On a daily basis, take public transport ».

They must be presented in a easily legible or audible and clearly distinguishable the advertising message and any other mandatory statement.

They shall be used within each advertising campaign in such a way as to guarantee, by type of advertising medium, the regular appearance of each of them on an equal quantity of advertising messages, with a tolerance of more or less 10%.

Other obligations may apply depending on the advertising medium:

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Television or cinema

The mandatory broadcast message is included in a fixed horizontal space easily identifiable and distinct from any other mandatory statement. The message must be held for a period of time allowing it to be read in full.

Its presentation respects the rules and practices of good practice regularly defined by the profession, and in particular the rules issued by the Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité (ARPP).

ARPP Code: Ethical Framework for Advertising Expression

Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority (PRRA)

Pour en savoir plus

The message shall be completed at the end of its presentation with the signature: #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer.

Radio

For broadcast advertisements, the mandatory broadcast message is pronounced immediately after the commercial.

Still image on a printed medium or on a digital advertising screen

For advertising in the form of a still image on a printed medium or on a digital advertising screen, the mandatory message broadcast shall be part of a horizontal space reserved for this text covering at least 7% advertising surface, easily identifiable and distinct from any other mandatory statement. It shall be supplemented by the mention of the signature #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer.

Its presentation respects the rules and practices of good practice regularly defined by the profession, and in particular the rules issued by the Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité (ARPP).

ARPP Code: Ethical Framework for Advertising Expression

Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority (PRRA)

Pour en savoir plus

In the event that several advertisements appear on the same page, the mandatory message broadcast and the mention #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer may be mentioned once, in a banner covering at least 7% of the page.

In the case of advertising or promotional materials produced by a single advertiser, only one of the mandatory messages must be broadcast together with the mention #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer for the entire document. In this case, the broadcast message and the mention #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer appear in 1re or last page of the document and fit in a banner covering at least 7% of the page.

Communication services to the public online (internet)

For advertisements broadcast via the internet, the mandatory message broadcast must be accessible when viewing the advertisement.

Its presentation respects the rules and practices of good practice regularly defined by the profession, and in particular the rules issued by the Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité (ARPP).

ARPP Code: Ethical Framework for Advertising Expression

Professional Advertising Regulatory Authority (PRRA)

Pour en savoir plus

Other obligations depend on the type of advertising:

  • For advertisements in the form of video, the mandatory message broadcast shall be included in a fixed horizontal space that is easily identifiable and distinct from any other mandatory statement. The message must be maintained for a period of time that allows it to be read in full.
  • For advertisements in the form ofstill image, the mandatory message broadcast shall be in a horizontal space reserved for that text covering at least 7% the advertising surface, easily identifiable and distinct from any other mandatory statement.
  • For ads only sound, the mandatory broadcast message shall be delivered immediately after the advertising message.

The mandatory message must always be completed with the signature #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer.

Warning  

In the event of a breach of this obligation, the Minister responsible for transport may give notice to the advertiser to comply. If it does not comply within the specified period, the financial penalty shall be proportionate to the size, frequency and duration of the breach, the type of advertising medium and the advertiser's situation, but shall not exceed €50,000 by diffusion.

In the event of a further breach of the same obligation, the financial penalty shall be increased to €100,000 by diffusion.

CO2 label

All media for the dissemination of commercial visual communications (television, cinema, online advertising including social networks and print) must now show the following:

  • Level of CO emissions2 of the car presented
  • Carbon dioxide emission class (A to G)

These items should appear via the display in a readable and clearly separate from any other mandatory statement.

The vehicles concerned are:

  • of category M1 not meeting the definition of vehicle of category L6e or L7e and having a total permissible laden weight of 3,5 tons or less
  • and subject to the obligation to measure fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions when it is granted Community type-approval,  EC type-approval ».

Warning  

Failure to fulfill this obligation shall be punished by a fine of €20,000(natural persons) or €100,000 (legal persons).

In the event of repeated infringement, the amount of the fine may be doubled.

The criminal liability of legal persons and that of their directors may be cumulated for the same acts. For example, a leader as a natural person may be held personally criminally liable, even if the company has already been convicted of the same acts.

A legal person may only be fined. The amount of the fine shall be multiplied by 5 compared to that provided for natural persons.

Advertising relating to the sale or promoting the purchase of new passenger cars is allowed until 31 December 2027.

From 1er January 2028, advertising relating to the sale or promoting the purchase of some new passenger cars will be forbidden.

The cars affected by the ban will be those that emit more than 123 grams of CO2 per kilometer according to standard WLTP: titleContent, which is equivalent to more than 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer according to standard NEDC: titleContent.

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