Accessibility to products and services has been on the agenda of the European and Frech regulatory authorities for a long time. The goal of the accessibility legislations has been to ensure (digital) inclusivity for all, particularly for people with disabilities. This means allowing everyone to have physical access to buildings and facilities, using telecommunications and public utility services, and accessing the more and more digitalized applications and tools.

France has a long legislation history in relation with accessibility, in fact the Law No. 2005-102 on Equal Rights and Opportunities, Participation, and Citizenship of Persons with Disabilities, passed almost 20 years ago, was the first to introduce accessibility requirements for digital services provided by the public sector.

In conjunction with legislation efforts, the government in 2009 developed the RGAA (Référentiel Général d’Amélioration de l’Accessibilité) or General Accessibility Guidelines with the goal to provide technical guidelines for the implementation of the requirements.

It was in 2016 that the Digital Republic Act (Loi pour une République Numérique): established timelines for compliance, introduced the validity of the accessibility requirements to mobile applications and imposed public websites to publish an accessibility statement.

Implementing EU laws on web accessibility

In 2019 France implemented the Directive (EU) 2016/2102, widening the scope of the applicability of the accessibility requirements. Specifically, the implementation Decree 2019-768 of 24 July 2019, involved in the scope of applicability the online communications services provided by the following entities:

  • Public entities (local and national, including hospitals and universities)
  • Private entities providing a public service (for example: telecommunications, transport, banking services);
  • Private entities and companies with a turnover of at least 250 million euros.

At the same time, in 2019, the EU Directive 2019/882, also known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA), was adopted and transposed into French Law with the Decree No. 2023-931 of October 9, 2023. The Decree extended further the scope of the applicability and included e-commerce websites and payment services.

Those websites and many other digital services should align to the standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. This means that website content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users, including those relying on assistive technologies.

Provided that France implemented the Directive in 2023, it is expected that French Authorities, specifically the Interministerial Digital Directorate (DINUM) (Direction interministérielle du numérique) are capable to start enforcing the provision of the EAA in June 2025, as mandated by the Directive.

This deadline encourages companies to perform a review of their websites and online services provided and start developing compliance strategies for the accessibility requirements.

Essential Insights for Your Business: Best Practices in Accessibility Compliance

It is crucial for companies to assess their websites on a Country-based approach, this will ensure that the website is focused on the compliance requirements of your target market and make sure that it meets the expectations. An audit of website accessibility requirements will support to understand the local exceptions and deviations from the general requirements of the Directive. Our team is of course available and prepared to guide your company in reviewing the current status, assess the appropriate  accessibility obligations and create a roadmap that considers them as well as your interest and position in the market.

Not to forget:

  • Support channels including call centre services and helpdesk tools are also to be included in the accessibility audit
  • The legislation and the technical standards are in continuous evolution, therefore it is important to train the staff and be aware of the evolving standards on accessibility criteria.

As the enforcement actions will start soon, companies are invited to start-off the auditing and compliance roadmap, however the input to make websites accessible is not only a legal compliance obligation, but also a very strong reputational and investment benefit to make digital markets more inclusive and beneficial for all.

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