French law does not provide a unitary set of rules only applicable to commercial contracts. The following legal provisions may be applicable to commercial contracts:
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The French Civil Code, which contains (i) most provisions on contract law, including rules regarding contracts in general (ie, contract formation, validity, term, performance, enforceability, assignment, termination, liability and remedies) and rules regarding specific contracts (eg, sales, statutory warranties, agency, lease, loan, escrow and guarantees) and (ii) provisions on tort liability.
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The French Commercial Code, which contains some specific rules applicable in business-to-business agreements (eg, payment terms, interest for late payment, general terms and conditions, distribution, commercial agency, commissionaire and commercial leases agreements).
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The French Intellectual Property Code for contract terms relating to intellectual property rights.
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The French Consumer Code, which contains important rules that professionals must comply with when dealing with consumers, but which may also have to be taken into account when contracting with another business when the end-user is a consumer or in all cases when contracting with another business (eg, the prohibition of misleading commercial practices is also applicable to business transactions).
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The Judicial Organization Code, which contains rules on the jurisdiction of intellectual property proceedings.
This list is not exhaustive, and specific provisions may be implicated by certain types of commercial contracts (eg, Transport Code, Law on Subcontracting, Data Protection Law or Law on Confidence in the Digital Economy).