Appointed in May 2023 as head of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), Sarah Lacoche had barely two months to immerse herself in the complex files of this administration of the Ministry of economy and to present, Thursday, July 6, the report for the year 2022.
With its 2,900 agents, it carried out more than 128,000 “visits” for a total of 88,400 establishments and websites: food and non-food products come first in controls, followed by abusive canvassing, transport and tourism, then real estate, housing or construction.
Mrs Lacoche, finance inspector from the Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts group), underlined that her management had “Massively mobilized to protect consumers and their purchasing power” in 2022, a year marked by soaring food and energy prices. The crackdown on fraud indicates that checks were fewer than in 2021, but “more complex”. And “nearly 60% of the actions concerned the economic protection of consumers, 35% its safety and 7% competition”.
Two major health alerts
The 2022 financial year was particularly marked by two major health alerts: the massive recalls of Buitoni’s “Fraîch’Up” pizzas in March 2022; and those of “Kinder” products a month later. Over the year, 25,000 visits spread across the entire national territory were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the product withdrawal-recall measures. Protecting purchasing power was also a priority. The display of prices and the application of the fuel discount at the pump have been checked. The DGCCRF says it has also been vigilant in the face of the rise in “shrinkflation”a practice of reducing the quantities per pack – authorized on condition that consumers are informed.
Furthermore, the ecological transition and the emergence of new modes of consumption (short circuits, products that respect the environment, etc.) require undistorted and transparent information. “Environmental claims are also new sales arguments which must be ensured that they do not mislead consumers and do not distort competition”, notes the report. Numerous checks have been carried out against greenwashing, “damaging to the planet and the fairness of the markets”.
The energy sector, marked by soaring gas and electricity prices, is one of the most risky. “Subject to massive fraud and highly detrimental to consumers”commercial practices in terms of energy renovation have strongly mobilized the DGCCRF in 2022. It notes “high anomaly rates” in telephone canvassing, energy diagnostics and consumer contractual information. Not to mention the non-compliance of the labeling of energy performance and repairability index of household appliances, identified in more than 60% of the 384 suppliers and distributors checked!
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