France
What the French fishing gear law requires today
Fishing gear EPR in France exists on paper but not yet in practice. Décret 2025-775 of 5 August 2025 finally set the legal framework, definitions and scope, after the EU put France on notice for missing the deadline in the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
Implementation is being routed through a voluntary État-filière accord signed in 2025 rather than a live scheme.
The test for whether you are in scope is simple. If your gear contains plastic, the EU rules reach it, so most commercial fishing gear qualifies.
What you can and cannot do yet in France
There is no IDU to obtain and no éco-contribution to pay for this filière today, so there is no live declaration to file. Any figure on cost, threshold or reporting cadence would be guesswork, and the operational detail was still pending in early July 2026.
The enforcement framework does exist in law (article L541-9-5), and online marketplaces are covered by article L541-10-9. In practice the gate is dormant for fishing gear, because there is no fishing-gear registration to check.
Foreign sellers are in the same position as French ones, waiting for a scheme to join. When one is approved, the authorised representative question becomes live rather than theoretical.
The dates ahead for fishing gear in France
This is the part that matters now. The EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (2019/904, article 8(8)) required an EPR scheme for fishing gear containing plastic by the end of 2024, and France is late. It is the same directive behind France's single-use plastics rules.
The 2025 décret closed the legal gap, but the arrêté setting the operational cahier des charges was still pending as of July 2026, and no éco-organisme had been approved.
The practical advice is to track the framework and be ready to register once a scheme goes live, the same pattern the rest of EPR in France follows once a filière matures.
Questions sellers ask about fishing gear EPR in France
The points fishing gear producers raise most about the French rules.
Who has to register for fishing gear EPR in France?
In principle, producers who place fishing gear containing plastic on the French market. In practice there is no scheme to register with yet, because no éco-organisme has been approved and the operational rules are still pending.
Is there a threshold or exemption for small producers in France?
Not defined yet. The scope and any threshold wait on the cahier des charges, which had not been issued as of July 2026, so no reliable exemption line exists today.
Do foreign or online sellers need an authorised representative in France?
That question is not live yet, because there is no scheme to join. Once a fishing-gear éco-organisme is approved, non-established producers will comply the usual French way, by joining it rather than relying on a standalone representative.
What happens if I sell without registering in France?
For now there is nothing to register for, so the gate is dormant. The general enforcement powers in article L541-9-5 exist, but they cannot bite on a filière that has no approved scheme and no IDU to check.
What changes next for fishing gear EPR in France?
The missing piece is the operational cahier des charges and an approved éco-organisme. Once both land, France will have a live fishing-gear scheme with registration, an éco-contribution and reporting, closing the gap the EU flagged in 2024.
