Major sporting events in France : SignalConso, now available in English
To coincide with the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) has tailored its SignalConso platform to English-speaking consumers, providing an English translation of the website and app for tourists to use during their stay in France.
Overcharging for transport fares, hotel rooms not matching their descriptions, fraudulent service offerings and counterfeit goods: just like any consumer, foreign visitors need to be protected. To guarantee them the utmost protection during their stay, particularly during the major sporting events that France is preparing to host, the DGCCRF has launched an English version of the SignalConso platform, available online https://signal.conso.gouv.fr/en and in the form of a mobile app.
With almost 580,000 reports filed on SignalConso since 2020 – with nearly 14% concerning tourism-oriented industries (travel, entertainment, cafés/restaurants) – French consumers recognise the value of this free, portable, and user-friendly tool, and the SignalConso smartphone app has been downloaded by more than 100,000 consumers so far.
Its English version, release today, allows international tourists to report any consumer issues (e.g. lack of information, hidden services, defective or dangerous products/services) and contact a trader (physical and online stores, entertainment, transport, cafés/restaurants) with just a few clicks. With out-of-court settlements of disputes encouraged between consumers and traders, non-French-speaking visitors can now use SignalConso to find solutions to any consumer issues that may arise during their stay.
Lastly, with this move to improve SignalConso's accessibility to foreign visitors, the DGCCRF will be able to more quickly detect emerging cases of fraud targeting tourists and identify traders who are reported on numerous occasions in tourist-oriented industries.
To promote this new service to foreign audiences, the DGCCRF will launch a national and international press campaign and post video messages on social networks, which will be circulatedby tourism and sport stakeholders and by French and European consumer associations and government departments in France and abroad
The Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) gives more informations for foreign tourists via : https://www.economie.gouv.fr/dgccrf/faq-coupe-du-monde-de-rugby-2023-et-jo-2024