Sell Cosmetics in France: DGCCRF, ANSES and National Requirements

• DGCCRF is the sole authority controlling cosmetics in France since 1 January 2024 (previously shared with the ANSM); ANSES handles cosmetovigilance — both operating under Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 — France is the EU's second-largest cosmetics market at €14.18 billion in 2024.
• French is mandatory for key label mentions (Art. R. 5131-4 of the Public Health Code) and for the presentation of the product (Loi Toubon); the INCI ingredient list is not translated.
• Anyone handling at least 100 g per year of a nanoparticulate substance must file an annual R-Nano declaration (managed by ANSES), separate from the CPNP Art. 16(3) notification.

1. The EU framework applies — notify once, sell everywhere

France applies Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 directly — the harmonised rules that govern cosmetic products across the entire European Union. There is no parallel national regime: the safety, composition, and labelling rules are the same as in the rest of the EU.

In practice, selling in France within the EU framework means meeting three common obligations that are not specific to this country:

• A single CPNP notification covers the entire EU market, including France.
• A single EU-established Responsible Person is accountable for the product.
• A single product information file (PIF), which includes the cosmetic product safety report (CPSR).

This guide does not repeat that common framework — it focuses on what is specific to France. For the cross-cutting concepts, see also what the CosIng database is and how to use it.

2. The national competent authority

France restructured its cosmetics authority framework on 1 January 2024 (Law 2022-1726, art. 205; Decree 2023-1113). Before that date, the ANSM (Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé) shared control with the DGCCRF. Since then, two bodies hold distinct functions:

DGCCRF — Control of products and establishments (sole competent authority) The Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF — Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) is the sole authority controlling cosmetic products and establishments in France. Its responsibilities include establishment control, market inspections, regulatory compliance verification, and processing establishment declarations from manufacturers and packagers. Official URL: www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf. What each authority publishes on cosmetics — recalls on RappelConso, the DGCCRF inspection results and the ANSES annual cosmetovigilance report — and on what calendar, is covered in Cosmetics in France: DGCCRF, ANSES and what they publish.

ANSES — Cosmetovigilance and risk assessment The Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES — French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety) took over cosmetovigilance and scientific risk assessment from the ANSM on 1 January 2024. The ANSM keeps good-laboratory-practice oversight and the authorisation of clinical trials on cosmetics. ANSES manages the R-Nano declaration and receives reports of serious undesirable effects: cosmetovigilance@anses.fr. URL: www.anses.fr.

3. Labelling language requirements

French is mandatory for key label mentions in France. Two legal instruments establish this requirement:

1. Art. R. 5131-4 of the French Public Health Code: requires French for the mentions in points (b), (c), (d) and (f) of Art. 19(1) of Regulation 1223/2009 — nominal content, date of minimum durability or PAO, precautions for use, and product function.
2. Loi Toubon (Law 94-665 of 4 August 1994, art. 2): requires French more generally for the presentation of the product.

Other languages may be added alongside French, but the French presentation must be at least as legible as the foreign-language one (Loi Toubon, art. 4). The ingredient list uses INCI nomenclature (Art. 19(1)(g)), which R. 5131-4 does not require to be translated.

For CosIng database ingredient identification using INCI nomenclature, no French translation is required. It's worth also checking the prohibited substances and restricted substances listings, or using the CosIng ingredient search to look up a specific INCI name, before finalising a formulation for this market.

4. National particularities

Establishment declaration with DGCCRF

Opening, operating or extending an establishment located in France that manufactures or packages cosmetic products requires a prior declaration to DGCCRF (Public Health Code, art. L. 5131-2). Later changes and the end of the activity must be reported without delay (art. R. 5131-1). Establishments already declared to the ANSM before 1 January 2024 do not need to re-declare.

R-Nano declaration (ANSES)

R-Nano is not a registration of cosmetic products. It is an annual declaration of nanoparticulate substances (Environment Code, arts. L. 523-1 and R. 523-13), managed by ANSES. It applies to anyone who manufactures, imports or distributes at least 100 g per year of such a substance, on its own or in a mixture (not bound), in any sector including cosmetics, and is due before 1 May for the previous calendar year. It is separate from the CPNP nanomaterial notification under Art. 16(3) of Regulation 1223/2009. Check with your suppliers, and against your own role, whether you are a declarant.

PFAS ban in cosmetics

From 1 January 2026, France bans the manufacture, import, export and placing on the market of cosmetic products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) above residual thresholds (Environment Code, art. L. 524-1; Law 2025-188 of 27 February 2025). Decree 2025-1376 sets the thresholds: 25 ppb per PFAS, 250 ppb in total excluding polymers, and 50 ppm including polymers. The scope is broader than EU rules, which currently restrict specific PFAS such as PFHxA (REACH, Regulation (EU) 2024/2462, applicable to cosmetics from 10 October 2026). Cosmetic products manufactured before 1 January 2026 may still be placed on the market or exported until 31 December 2026 (Decree 2025-1376, art. 2); "placing on the market" means first supply (Environment Code, art. D. 525-1).

Unsolicited samples prohibition

This is a general rule, not a cosmetics-specific one: France prohibits giving consumers product samples, including cosmetic samples, in a commercial context unless they asked for them (Environment Code, art. L. 541-15-10 V; Decree 2024-373, arts. D. 541-345 and D. 541-346). Sampling between professionals is not covered.

For other markets in the region, see our guides to Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland.

5. Market context

France is the second-largest cosmetics market in the European Union. According to Cosmetics Europe's Market Performance Report 2024 (published with the Annual Report 2024 in June 2025), retail sales of cosmetics and personal care products in France reached €14.18 billion in 2024, second in the EU after Germany (€16.94 billion). France is also the world's leading exporter of perfumes and cosmetics (French Treasury), with an industry that includes globally recognised brands and a well-developed manufacturing and formulation ecosystem.

For companies accessing the French market, the January 2024 authority restructuring — control consolidated in the DGCCRF, with cosmetovigilance and risk assessment moved from the ANSM to ANSES — is the most significant regulatory change in recent years and distinguishes France from most other EU markets.

6. Frequently asked questions

Which authority regulates cosmetics in France? Since 1 January 2024, DGCCRF (Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes) is the sole authority controlling cosmetic products and establishments in France; before that, control was shared with the ANSM. ANSES took over cosmetovigilance and risk assessment from the ANSM.

What language must cosmetic labels be in for France? French is mandatory for the nominal content, the date of minimum durability or PAO, the precautions for use and the product function (Art. R. 5131-4 of the French Public Health Code), and more generally for the presentation of the product (Loi Toubon). Other languages may be added, but the French must be at least as legible. The ingredient list uses INCI nomenclature, which does not have to be translated.

Do I need a separate notification for France? No. A single CPNP notification covers the entire EU including France. However, opening, operating or extending an establishment in France that manufactures or packages cosmetics requires a prior declaration to DGCCRF.

Are there national particularities beyond Regulation 1223/2009? Yes. France requires an annual R-Nano declaration of nanoparticulate substances (separate from the CPNP nanomaterial notification), prohibits giving consumers unsolicited samples, and has banned cosmetics containing PFAS above residual thresholds since 1 January 2026.