Ordinance of September 3, 2025 on Consumer Credit
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This French ordinance transposes the European Directive of October 18, 2023 on consumer credit contracts into national law. It represents a comprehensive modernisation of the legal framework governing consumer lending in France, aligning French law with updated EU standards aimed at strengthening borrower protections. The ordinance introduces stricter requirements for lenders, including enhanced pre-contractual information obligations, more rigorous creditworthiness assessments, and clearer rules around advertising and the presentation of credit offers. It also expands protections for borrowers in financial difficulty, including improved access to debt restructuring mechanisms. A key focus of the reform is addressing the risks of over-indebtedness, particularly in the context of digital credit products and buy-now-pay-later schemes, which were not adequately covered by the previous 2008 directive. Lenders operating in France must now comply with updated disclosure, assessment, and conduct-of-business rules. The ordinance entered into force following its publication on September 4, 2025, with certain provisions subject to transitional periods to allow market participants to adapt their systems and processes.
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Key Changes
- Transposition of EU Directive 2023/2225 of October 18, 2023 into French national law, replacing the previous framework based on the 2008 Consumer Credit Directive
- Strengthened pre-contractual information obligations: lenders must provide standardised, clearer disclosures before any credit agreement is signed
- Mandatory enhanced creditworthiness assessments for all consumer credit products, with lenders prohibited from granting credit where assessment indicates unaffordability
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Obligations
What this law requires
Lenders must provide enhanced pre-contractual information to consumers before credit contracts are concluded
Lenders must conduct rigorous creditworthiness assessments of borrowers prior to extending credit
Lenders must comply with clearer rules regarding credit advertising and presentation of credit offers
Lenders must implement updated conduct-of-business rules as specified in the ordinance
Lenders must ensure compliance with updated disclosure requirements applicable to digital credit products and buy-now-pay-later schemes