French Labour Code
In forceI.-For the purposes of verifying the compliance of equipment with the design, manufacturing and marketing rules applicable to it and obtaining evidence of any non-compliance, the market surveillance authorities and authorised agents may:
1° Require economic operators to provide the documents and information mentioned in article R. 4314-8;
2° Carry out on-site inspections, unannounced if necessary, and physical checks on equipment, including by subjecting it to verification in the form of tests, analyses or trials. These checks are the subject of a report;
3° Access, under the conditions provided for in the second paragraph of Article L. 4314-1, to all the premises, land and means of transport that the economic operator concerned uses for purposes related to its commercial, industrial, craft or liberal profession activity;
4° Initiate investigations on its own initiative;
5° Contacting an economic operator under an assumed identity to obtain commercial information;
6° Acquiring, either directly, including under an assumed identity, or through a public or private body, samples of equipment and subjecting them to checks in the form of tests, analyses or trials. These checks are the subject of a report.
The samples are acquired, unpacked, analysed and stored in such a way as to enable them to be identified at any time. Where destructive testing is required to verify compliance, at least one other sample of the same model of equipment is acquired and not subjected to destructive testing.
All acquisitions are accompanied by an acquisition report, the content of which is defined by an order of the ministers responsible for labour and agriculture. This report is attached to the report mentioned in the first paragraph.
II - The market surveillance authorities and authorised agents have all the powers of control and investigation mentioned in I for equipment sold via an online interface when this equipment is accessible on the national market.
