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The Court of Auditors regrets the state's inaction towards consumer associations

2021-10-13T17:09:12.677Z


It evokes "a public policy whose organization, management and resources must evolve". As recently as this morning, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir pilloried McDonald's France for “deceptive commercial practices”. Chance of the calendar, the Court of Auditors, whose main mission is "to ensure the proper use of public money, to inform citizens", unveils, this Wednesday, its report on "The State and associations of consumer defense ”. A 75-page long publication, far from glow


As recently as this morning, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir pilloried McDonald's France for “deceptive commercial practices”.

Chance of the calendar, the Court of Auditors, whose main mission is "to ensure the proper use of public money, to inform citizens", unveils, this Wednesday, its report on "The State and associations of consumer defense ”.

A 75-page long publication, far from glowing.

To discover

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An observation more than ten years old

The associative world is considered "

essential for the defense of consumers"

but

"presents significant weaknesses

 ". Gaps that had been pointed out ... in 2009 in the Laurent report, with reference to State Councilor Dominique Laurent, appointed at the time by Luc Chatel, then Secretary of State for Industry and Consumer Affairs. There would thus be too many associations of this type (15 in total of which 10 have general approval and 5 complete it with a specific one), “

approved on the basis of irrelevant criteria, too dependent for some of them on public subsidies

[paid by the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control]

constantly decreasing and little able to respond to changes in consumer issues

 ”.

Read alsoSecu: the Court of Auditors is alarmed by the absence of a path to return to balance

40% less grants

Subsidies were drastically reduced, by 40% between 2010 and 2020. They even fell by 48% over the period on the side of the very media union UFC-Que Choisir, although at the top of the 2020 list with 496,000 euros affected.

On the second and third steps of the podium, we find CLCV (440,000 euros) and FR (375,000 euros).

The Laurent report called for a major reform of the framework within which the consumerist association movement was evolving.

The latter has only experienced occasional changes, the effects of which have proved to be disappointing,

”comments the Court of Auditors.

A scathing and final observation, which naturally leads to a second: "

A public policy whose organization, management and resources must evolve

 ".

In the absence of a clear State strategy, the distribution of roles is not optimal and “

their action is not complementary

 ”.

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Three new proposals

In terms of solutions, the Court of Auditors makes four recommendations, more or less evocative ... The establishment of a multi-year plan to promote complementarity between the various stakeholders (including the DGCCRF), new approval conditions ( accompanied by better monitoring), the establishment of calls for projects rather than annual agreements.

And finally, first recommendation or rather reiteration: “

Review the provisions on group action of the law of March 17, 2014

[known as Hamon relating to the improvement of consumer protection]

in the light of those of the Law of 18 November 2016 on justice in the 21st century in order to promote the development of this procedure

 ".

According to official sources, the latter aims to "promote [r] the amicable settlement of disputes".

In this regard, the Ministry of the Economy has set up the Commission for the evaluation and control of consumer mediation (CECMC).

In 2020, some 170,000 dispute resolution requests were sent to it, according to a report by the said Commission, dated October 11, up 70% over three years.

A service that is not yet working at full capacity.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-10-13

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