France approves law to curb intrusive telemarketing calls

France has approved Law n° 2025-594 of 30 June 2025 on combating all forms of fraud, and its telemarketing rules will take effect on 11 August 2026. For households targeted by repeated sales pitches and nuisance calls, the key change is simple: companies will need prior consent before making telephone marketing calls.

The reform pushes France beyond its long-running do-not-call model. Bloctel, the country’s official opposition list for unsolicited commercial calls, still lets consumers register landline and mobile numbers for free online, but the new law goes further by making permission the starting point for telephone marketing. Under the updated regime, callers can no longer rely on a customer’s silence or a number not listed on Bloctel as an opening to place commercial calls.

Legal summaries of the measure say prior consent will be required for telephone marketing from any caller, regardless of sector, creating a full opt-in system. That is a sharp break from older telemarketing rules and a direct response to years of frustration over intrusive outreach, including aggressive sales tactics and fraud attempts that use cold calls to pressure or confuse people. The law also targets abuses such as caller-ID spoofing and fraudulent outreach, placing the burden on businesses to prove they have permission before they dial.

The practical impact is already visible in the business market. Talkdesk issued a notice on 3 August 2026 warning customers that outbound calls into France must comply with the new requirements effective 11 August 2026. For call centers and sales teams, that means reviewing consent records, cleaning contact lists and reworking outreach systems before the deadline. Firms that depend on blanket dialing will have to shift toward permission-based marketing if they want to keep calling French numbers.

France’s move fits a wider European trend toward tighter consumer privacy and stronger limits on digital-era harassment. The policy is designed to make intrusive calls harder to place and easier to stop, but its effectiveness will depend on how strictly regulators enforce the new consent rule and how quickly companies change their behavior. The old assumption that a household number is fair game is ending; in France, marketers will now need a clear invitation before they can ring.