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Prediction: France: Liability for defective products is adapting in line with new technologies

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Liability for defective products is being reformed into a legal framework that recognises today's realities, and which favours the victims. On 28 September 2022, the European Commission tabled an initial proposal for an updated Directive on Liability for Defective Products. Following negotiations between the EU institutions, the agreed text for the Directive has now entered into force, giving Member States until late 2026 to arrange for transposition into national law. This Directive extends the concept of product to new technologies and makes it easier for the plaintiff to prove the losses by asking the court to order the producer to disclose relevant information. Under certain conditions, there will be a presumption that the product is defective and/or that there is a causal link between the defect and the damage suffered, and Member States will no longer be able to introduce an exemption for "state of the art" development.