(law n°92-645 of July 13, 1992 and its application decree n° 94-490 of June 15, 1994).
Article 95 - Subject to the exclusions provided for in the second paragraph (a and b) of article 14 of the aforementioned law of July 13, 1992, all offers and sales of travel or holiday services must be accompanied by appropriate documents which comply with the rules defined by the present title. In the event of the sale of air tickets or tickets for scheduled air travel not accompanied by services related to such travel, the seller shall issue the purchaser with one or more tickets for the entire journey, issued by or under the responsibility of the carrier. In the case of transportation on demand, the name and address of the carrier, on whose behalf the tickets are issued, must be mentioned. The separate invoicing of various elements of the same tourist package does not exempt the seller from his obligations under the present title.
Article 96 - Prior to the conclusion of the contract and on the basis of a written document, bearing his company name, address and the indication of his administrative authorization to practice, the seller must communicate to the consumer information on the prices, dates and other constituent elements of the services provided on the occasion of the trip or stay, such as :
- the destination, means, characteristics and categories of transport used;
- the type of accommodation, its location, level of comfort and main features, its certification and tourist classification in accordance with the regulations or customs of the host country;
- meals provided;
- a description of the itinerary in the case of a tour;
- administrative and health formalities to be completed, particularly when crossing borders, and the time required to complete them;
- visits, excursions and other services included in the package or available at extra cost;
- the minimum or maximum size of the group enabling the trip or holiday to take place is subject to a minimum number of participants; the deadline for informing the consumer in the event of cancellation of the trip or holiday; this date may not be less than twenty-one days before departure;
- the amount or percentage of the price to be paid as a deposit on conclusion of the contract, and the schedule for payment of the balance;
- the terms and conditions of price revision as provided for in the contract in application of article 100 of the present decree;
- contractual cancellation conditions;
- cancellation conditions defined in articles 101, 102 and 103 below;
- details of the risks covered and the amount of cover taken out under the insurance contract covering the consequences of the professional civil liability of travel agencies and the civil liability of non-profit associations and organizations and local tourism bodies;
- information concerning the optional subscription of an insurance policy covering the consequences of certain cases of cancellation, or an assistance policy covering certain specific risks, notably repatriation costs in the event of accident or illness.
Article 97 - Prior information given to the consumer is binding on the seller, unless the seller has expressly reserved the right to modify certain elements of the information. In this case, the seller must clearly indicate the extent to which this modification may be made, and on which elements. In any event, modifications to the prior information must be communicated to the consumer in writing before the contract is concluded.
Article 98 - The contract concluded between the seller and the buyer must be in writing, drawn up in duplicate, one of which is given to the buyer, and signed by both parties. It must include the following clauses
- the name and address of the seller, his guarantor and insurer, and the name and address of the organizer;
- the destination or destinations of the journey, and in the case of a split holiday, the different periods and their dates;
- means, characteristics and categories of transport used, dates, times and places of departure and return;
- the type of accommodation, its location, level of comfort and main features, and its tourist classification under the regulations or customs of the host country;
- the number of meals provided;
- the itinerary in the case of a tour;
- visits, excursions or other services included in the total price of the trip or stay;
- the total price of the services invoiced, as well as an indication of any revisions to this invoicing, subject to all the provisions of article 100 below;
- indication, where applicable, of landing, disembarkation or embarkation fees or taxes in ports and airports, and tourist tax when not included in the price of the service(s) provided;
- the timetable and terms of payment of the price; in any event, the last payment made by the purchaser may not be less than 30% of the price of the trip or stay, and must be made on delivery of the documents required for the trip or stay;
- any special conditions requested by the purchaser and accepted by the seller;
- the terms and conditions under which the purchaser may lodge a complaint with the vendor for non-performance or improper performance of the contract, which complaint must be sent as soon as possible, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, to the vendor, and notified in writing, where appropriate, to the tour organizer and the service provider concerned;
- the deadline for informing the purchaser in the event of cancellation of the trip or holiday by the vendor, where cancellation of the trip or holiday is linked to a minimum number of participants, in accordance with the provisions of article 96, 7 above;
- cancellation conditions of a contractual nature ;
- the cancellation conditions stipulated in articles 101, 102 and 103 above;
- details of the risks covered and the amount of cover under the insurance contract covering the consequences of the seller's professional civil liability;
- information concerning the insurance contract covering the consequences of certain cases of cancellation taken out by the buyer (policy number and name of insurer), as well as information concerning the assistance contract covering certain specific risks, in particular repatriation costs in the event of accident or illness; in this case, the seller must provide the buyer with a document specifying at least the risks covered and the risks excluded;
- the deadline for informing the seller in the event of termination of the contract by the buyer;
- an undertaking to provide the purchaser, in writing, at least 10 days before the planned date of departure, with the following information: the name, address and telephone number of the seller's local representative or, failing this, the names, addresses and telephone numbers of local organizations likely to be able to help the consumer in the event of difficulty, or failing this, the telephone number for urgent contact with the seller;
- for trips and stays abroad for minors, a telephone number and address enabling direct contact to be made with the child or the person in charge of the child's stay.
Article 99 - The purchaser may assign his contract to a licensee who meets the same conditions as he does for the trip or stay, as long as this contract has not produced any effect. Unless otherwise stipulated, the assignor must inform the vendor of his decision by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt no later than seven days before the start of the trip. In the case of a cruise, this period is extended to fifteen days. Under no circumstances is this session subject to prior authorization by the seller.
Article 100 - When the contract includes an express possibility of price revision, within the limits provided for in article 19 of the aforementioned law of July 13, 1992, it must mention the precise methods of calculation, both upwards and downwards, of price variations, and in particular the amount of transport costs and related taxes, the currency or currencies which may have an impact on the price to which the variation applies, and the rate of the currency or currencies used as a reference when establishing the price appearing in the contract.
Article 101 - When, before the buyer's departure, the seller is forced to make a change to one of the essential elements of the contract, such as a significant increase in price, the buyer may, without prejudice to any claims for damages, and after having been informed by the seller by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt :
- either cancel the contract and obtain immediate reimbursement of the sums paid, without penalty.
- or accept the modification or substitute trip proposed by the seller; an amendment to the contract specifying the modifications made is then signed by the parties; any reduction in price is deducted from any sums still owed by the purchaser and, if the payment already made by the latter exceeds the price of the modified service, the excess must be returned to him before the date of his departure.
Article 102 - In the case provided for in article 21 of the aforementioned law of July 13th 1992, when the seller cancels the trip or holiday before the buyer's departure, he must inform the buyer by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; the buyer, without prejudice to any recourse for compensation for any damage suffered, obtains from the seller the immediate reimbursement, without penalty, of the sums paid; the buyer receives, in this case, compensation at least equal to the penalty he would have incurred if the cancellation had been made by him on that date. The provisions of the present article shall in no way prevent the conclusion of an amicable agreement for the purpose of the buyer's acceptance of a substitute trip or stay proposed by the seller.
Article 103 - When, after the buyer's departure, the seller finds himself unable to provide a preponderant part of the services provided for in the contract, representing a non-negligible percentage of the price paid by the buyer, the seller must immediately take the following steps, without prejudice to any recourse for compensation for any damage suffered:
- either offer services to replace the services provided, possibly at an additional cost, and if the services accepted by the buyer are of inferior quality, the seller must reimburse the buyer for the difference in price on his return;
- or, if the seller is unable to offer any replacement service, or if the buyer refuses to accept the replacement service for valid reasons, provide the buyer, at no extra cost, with transport tickets to ensure the buyer's return to the place of departure, or to another place accepted by both parties, under conditions that can be deemed equivalent.