French Creator-Brand Collaboration Agreement — Law 2023-451

Yes, as soon as any compensation is agreed — whether monetary or in kind. Article 5 of Law no. 2023-451 of 9 June 2023 requires a written contract for every remunerated collaboration, with no minimum threshold. Decree no. 2023-1311 of 27 December 2023 details the minimum content. The absence of a contract exposes both the brand and the creator to DGCCRF administrative sanctions from the very first euro of compensation — including the supply of products without any direct cash payment.

Article 9 of Law 2023-451 requires the label Publicité (Advertisement) or Partenariat rémunéré (Paid Partnership) to appear clearly, legibly and immediately — without any click or scroll. On videos, the overlay must appear from the first second and remain visible throughout any commercial sequence; it cannot be buried in a list of hashtags. The EU DSA (Art. 26, in force since 17 February 2024) requires platforms to allow users to identify the ad, advertiser and funder in real time; VLOPs must archive these markers for one year (Art. 39 DSA).

Article 3 of Law 2023-451 prohibits promotion of: high-risk financial products (speculative crypto-assets, unregulated Forex), cosmetic surgery procedures, subscriptions to pornographic content, and gambling not approved by the ANJ (France's national gambling regulator). Additional restrictions from the Code de la santé publique apply to prescription medicines and medical devices without marketing authorisation (AMM), and from the Code monétaire et financier to financial offers lacking an AMF (France's financial markets regulator) visa. Any contract clause covering these areas is void by operation of law.

Article 6 of Law 2023-451 requires the contract to state the market value (prix public TTC — full retail price including VAT) of any product, invitation or discount code given to the creator. This valuation is treated as taxable income forming part of the creator's turnover (chiffre d'affaires). For VAT purposes, the 2026 exemption threshold for service providers is 37,500 EUR (Art. 293 B of the Code général des impôts — the French tax code), and benefits in kind count towards this ceiling. The brand must retain supporting documents for its own tax audit.

Both parties must retain the contract for five years, in line with the commercial obligations prescription period (Art. L110-4 of the Code de commerce — the French commercial code). The DGCCRF may demand production of the document at any point during this window. Law 2023-451 sets no separate retention period; the five-year general prescription for misleading commercial practices aligns with this term. In the event of a contractual dispute, Art. 2224 of the Code civil (ordinary five-year prescription) applies equally.

Yes, if their content targets consumers established in France. Article 7 of Law 2023-451 extends the obligation to any foreign creator directing content at a French audience; the French advertiser then becomes jointly and severally liable for compliance with mandatory disclosures. Under the EU DSA (in force since 17 February 2024), Art. 13 requires platforms not established in the EU to appoint a legal representative in the Union — this obligation falls on the platforms, not on creators. The contract should specify the governing law and competent jurisdiction when parties are in different countries.