While French legal terminology historically emphasized the term "freedom of commerce and industry", the Constitutional Council of France introduced the concept of "freedom to undertake" (liberté d'entreprendre) in 1982.
[1] Other liberal economies often employ broader terms, such as "economic freedom", as seen in Article 27 of the Swiss Constitution.
The principle originated during the Ancien Régime, with increasing criticism of the guilds and corporations that restricted economic activities.
Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, as Controller-General of Finances, championed this principle in his preamble to the 1774 royal decree on grain trade, asserting that "the freer the trade, the more quickly and abundantly the people are supplied.
[10] Freedom of commerce and industry implies: Restrictions are permissible if justified by public interest and proportionate, as noted in Swiss and French constitutional and administrative jurisprudence.