Chapter VI: Infringements of the rules relating to the design, manufacture and marketing of work equipment and personal protective equipment

Articles in this section · 4

Article R4746-1

French Labour CodeIn force

Updated 2 Nov 2023

I.-It is punishable by the fine laid down for fifth-class offences for an economic operator within the meaning of 13) of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 to exhibit, offer for sale, sell, import, hire out, make available or transfer for any purpose whatsoever:

1° Personal protective equipment within the meaning of 1) of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2016/425:

(a) Not accompanied by, or not provided with a secure and easily accessible internet link to, the EU declaration of conformity provided for in Article 15 of the same Regulation, or accompanied by a declaration that is incomplete or not written in French;

(b) Not accompanied by the instructions provided for in Article 8(7), Article 10(4) and Article 11(2) of the same Regulation, or accompanied by instructions that are incomplete or not written in French ;

c) Does not comply with the obligations relating to the CE marking laid down in Articles 16 and 17 of the same Regulation and, for category III personal protective equipment, does not comply with the obligations relating to the identification of the notified body laid down in that Article 17 ;

d) Does not contain the information relating to the identification of the equipment, its characteristics or the economic operator mentioned in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 8 and paragraph 3 of Article 10 of the same regulation, or contains false or incomplete information;

2° A machine within the meaning of Article R. 4311-4 :

a) Not accompanied by the EC declaration of conformity provided for in Article R. 4313-1, or accompanied by a declaration which is incomplete or not written in French;

b) Not accompanied by the instructions provided for in point 1.7.4 of Annex I to Article R. 4312-1 or accompanied by incomplete instructions or instructions not written in French;

c) Not complying with the obligations relating to CE marking laid down in Articles R. 4313-3 to R. 4313-5 ;

3° Une quasi-machine au sens de l'article R. 4311-6 not accompanied by the declaration of incorporation provided for in article R. 4313-10, accompanied by a declaration that is incomplete or not written in French, not accompanied by the assembly instructions provided for in article R. 4313-7 or accompanied by instructions that do not comply with the provisions of article R. 4313-9 ;

4° An agricultural or forestry tractor subject to EU type-approval not accompanied by the certificate of conformity provided for in Article 33 of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013, or accompanied by a certificate that is incomplete or not written in French;

5° An agricultural or forestry tractor or a separate technical unit, system or component of an agricultural or forestry tractor subject to EU type-approval not complying with the obligations relating to the marking provided for in Article 34 of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013;

6° An agricultural or forestry tractor subject to national type-approval:

a) Not accompanied by the certificate of conformity provided for inArticle 12 of Decree No. 2005-1236 of 30 September 2005, as amended, or accompanied by a certificate that is incomplete or not written in French;

b) Not complying with the obligations relating to the conformity marking provided for inArticle 13 of Decree No. 2005-1236 of 30 September 2005 on the rules, requirements and procedures applicable to agricultural or forestry tractors and their devices;

7° A fence energiser:

a) Not accompanied by the declaration of conformity provided for inarticle 19 of amendeddecree no. 96-216 of 14 March 1996, or accompanied by an incomplete declaration or one not written in French;

b) Not complying with the obligations relating to conformity marking provided for inarticle 20 of decree no. 96-216 of 14 March 1996.

II -The fact that an economic operator within the meaning of 13) of Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 exhibits, at fairs, exhibitions, demonstrations or similar events, work equipment or personal protective equipment that does not comply with the provisions of Article L. 4311-1 without placing the warning provided for in Article L. 4311-4 near this equipment shall be punishable by a fifth-class fine.

III - Repeated offences under this article are punishable in accordance with articles 132-11 and 132-15 of the French Penal Code.

Mariela Petrova

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Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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