European Accessibility Act in France: what small online businesses need to know

How the EAA applies in France: the national law, who enforces it, the fines, the microenterprise exemption and the duties that catch small businesses out.

Last checked: 3 November 2026. Guidance, not legal advice.

The law

Loi n° 2023-171 (article 16, now Consumer Code art. L.412-13) and Décret n° 2023-931, in force since 28 June 2025.

Who enforces it

The DGCCRF (consumer protection authority), including for e-commerce, working with ARCOM, ARCEP, the Banque de France, ACPR and AMF in their own sectors.

Fines

• Breaches are punished with the fine for a fifth-class contravention (Consumer Code art. R.451-4), with the repeat-offence rules of the Penal Code applying.

Are small businesses exempt?

Exempt for services: fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover or balance sheet total of at most €2 million (Consumer Code art. L.412-13).

What to watch for

• Give the accessibility information in written and spoken form, in your general terms and conditions or an equivalent document (art. D.412-57).
• Web content published before 28 June 2025 — pre-recorded media, office files and archived content not updated since — is excluded.
• Consumers report problems through SignalConso.

Not yet confirmed

We only state what we could confirm. These points still need checking against the official text:

• The amount: secondary sources put the fifth-class fine at €7,500 per offence for a company (€15,000 for a repeat), but we did not read it in the official text.
• Whether every service-provider duty is covered by that fine, and whether a separate accessibility statement is required for private services under the EAA.

Sources

• Loi 2023-171, article 16 — Légifrance (official)
• Consumer Code art. L.412-13 — Légifrance (official)
• Décret 2023-931 — Légifrance (official)
• DGCCRF consumer fact sheet (official)

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