[1] In the European Union, a state which would make « made in France » or « made in Germany » labelling mandatory would infringe EU law which aim free competition, according to the Court of Justice of the European Union,.
The traditional ‘Made in France’ label is an incontestable draw for customers – the Pro France Ifop survey[3] (September 2018) reported that two thirds of French people ‘often’ or ‘systematically’ take the product’s origin into account when they buy a product or service, and that three quarters of French people would be prepared to pay more for a product labelled as ‘Made in France’.
According to Article 39 of the Customs Code,[5] a product is “Made in France" if it has ‘undergone its last economically justified substantial transformation, carried out in a company equipped for this purpose, resulting in the manufacture of a new product or one that corresponds to an important stage of manufacture’ in France.
The entry decision is made by a committee composed of technical experts from the given craft or industrial sector and renewed every five years.
Some examples of regional labels are:- - Produit en Bretagne[12] - Marque Savoie - Saveurs en Or[13] (Hauts de France) Marques-de-france[14] have an online directory of products ‘Made in France’ and natif-creatif[15] have an online directory of local artisans.
L'Embrasse Coeur[16] has also an online directory of local creators specialised in motherhood and baby products.