New French Law Bans Cold Calling, but Unwanted Phone Spam Persists

Commercial telemarketing has been officially banned by default in France since August 11, 2026, unless consumers give explicit and prior consent or have an ongoing contract. Despite the legislative crackdown, unwanted phone solicitations continue to disrupt daily life across the country, leading to widespread consumer exasperation and thousands of official reports.

Data compiled by the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) reveals that consumers registered 43,000 complaints regarding abusive telephone solicitation between early August and late September. These reports were submitted through the official SignalConso platform as well as the Bloctel service during its final days of operation, showing that many companies continue to bypass the legal requirement for consumer agreement.

The administration notes that it is currently too early to draw definitive conclusions on whether the total volume of calls has declined since the law took effect. Compared to previous periods, tracking data shows no sharp upward spike in complaints, while the government agency has previously issued more than 11 million euros in fines to violating businesses. According to a consumer survey published earlier in the year, 97 percent of individuals in France express frustration over persistent spam calls.

With telemarketing restrictions proving difficult to enforce universally, telecom operators and tech companies are rolling out network-level solutions to help users identify legitimate calls. Orange launched a network-based service called Branded Call, which displays the verified name of participating companies on mobile screens before users pick up. The feature utilizes strict authentication standards to prevent bad actors from spoofing recognized brands, allowing customers to safely distinguish important notifications from potential scams.

Other major providers are deploying contrasting defenses against the persistent wave of telephone spam. Bouygues Telecom introduced a network-level anti-spam filter for a monthly fee, alongside plans to expand caller identification features, while Free enables subscribers to automatically reject anonymous numbers from their online account settings. These measures aim to bridge the gap left by ongoing enforcement challenges.

In the meantime, consumers continue to manage unwanted interruptions through various personal strategies, ranging from blocking fraudulent numbers individually to letting calls ring out entirely. With the new regulations in place, upcoming official evaluations are expected in the coming months to assess the broader impact of the ban and determine whether stricter penalties are required to compel compliance across the industry.