French influencer law: the “Collaboration commerciale” label and gifted products

What the law calls commercial influence

Article 1 covers people who, “for consideration”, use their reputation to promote goods, services or a cause online.

The French Ministry of the Economy sets three cumulative conditions: consideration, the promotion of a good, service or cause, and online publication.

The consideration can be a payment or a benefit in kind.

Account size makes no difference: the activity exists “whatever the number of people concerned”.

A creator who receives a product with a request to post about it in return carries out commercial influence, according to the Ministry.

For a product sent with no request to post, the Ministry describes a situation that is “probably not” commercial influence. It still recommends telling the audience the product was given.

The “Publicité” or “Collaboration commerciale” label

The rule sits in article 5-2 of the law, created by ordinance no. 2024-978 of 6 November 2024 and in force since 8 November 2024.

Failing to show the commercial intent with a “clear, legible and understandable” label, on every medium used, is a misleading commercial practice.

The rule applies when the commercial intent is not already obvious from the context.

The text names the labels “publicité” (advertising) or “collaboration commerciale” (commercial collaboration), or an equivalent label suited to the activity and the format.

The Ministry of the Economy also asks for the advertiser or brand behind the content to be clearly identified. It recommends the branded-content option most platforms offer.

According to the Ministry, a missing clear label may be a misleading commercial practice, punishable by two years in prison and a EUR 300,000 fine.

Article 5 requires two more labels:

• “Images retouchées” (edited images), for an image edited to slim or thicken the body or change the face;
• “Images virtuelles” (virtual images), for a face or body generated by artificial intelligence.

A gifted product is a benefit in kind

The Ministry of the Economy gives a product and a trip as examples of a benefit in kind.

It lists “products given” among the forms of consideration that require the commercial intent of a post to be shown.

The disclosure label therefore applies to content posted in exchange for a gifted product.

Article 8 requires the contract to state the value of the benefit in kind, with the terms on which it is granted.

That value is the real value of the good or product, according to the Ministry.

The creator declares benefits in kind as income, from the first euro.

Written contract from EUR 1,000 excl. VAT

Article 8 requires a written contract, “on pain of nullity”, between the creator and the advertiser or the influencer’s agent.

Decree no. 2025-1137 of 28 November 2025 sets the threshold for this obligation, in force since 1 January 2026.

The decree adds up the fees paid and the value of the benefits in kind granted to an influencer by an advertiser “during the same year”.

The total is counted per promotional objective.

A written contract is required when that total is “greater than or equal to EUR 1,000 excluding tax”.

Below the threshold, the Ministry of the Economy still recommends a contract; a simple email exchange setting out the terms could be enough.

Advertiser liability

Article 8 makes the advertiser, its agent and the creator “jointly and severally liable for damage caused to third parties in performing the commercial influence contract that binds them”.

In its review of 2022 and 2023 checks, published on 3 April 2024, the DGCCRF states that its investigations can extend to advertisers.

According to the same review, advertisers can also be held liable.

Banned or regulated products

The Ministry of the Economy lists the promotions that are banned and those governed by their own rules:

• banned: cosmetic surgery and cosmetic medicine;
• banned: tobacco, e-cigarettes and nicotine products;
• banned: prescription medicines, risky financial products, sports betting tip subscriptions;
• regulated: alcoholic drinks, gambling, crypto-assets, medicines and medical devices.

On CollabLib

An influencer post carries the label “Publicité” or “Collaboration commerciale” and identifies the brand.

For a paid mission, acceptance creates version 1 of the contract: fee excluding VAT, delivery, formats, number of pieces, revisions and usage rights.

Each change accepted by the other party creates a new dated version.

The business’s payment is held by CollabLib until the content is approved; the creator is paid by SEPA bank transfer.

A gifted product carries no CollabLib fee.