France’s Influencer Law, Loi n° 2023-451 du 9 juin 2023, is an in-force national statute governing paid commercial influence by electronic means. This Crypto Laws profile focuses on the statute’s crypto-asset promotion restrictions in Article 4(V), together with the disclosure, contract and cross-border rules that shape how crypto advertisers, influencers and agents are treated when a campaign targets the French public.
What the French influencer law covers
The law defines commercial influence broadly. A person or legal entity engages in “influence commerciale par voie électronique” when, for remuneration, it uses its notoriety with an audience to communicate electronic content that directly or indirectly promotes goods, services or a cause. Article 3 also states that advertising and online promotion laws apply to commercial influence, making the regime a sector-specific overlay rather than a standalone crypto rule.
Crypto-asset promotion restrictions
Article 4(V) prohibits paid commercial influencers from directly or indirectly promoting specified financial products and services. For crypto, the current text covers the provision of crypto-asset services within the meaning of MiCA, unless the advertiser is approved or authorized to provide those services under MiCA Article 59. It also covers crypto-assets, subject to exceptions tied to services authorized under MiCA Articles 59 or 60, or issuance authorization under MiCA Articles 16 or 48.
The result is not a general ban on all crypto speech or education. It is a restriction on paid influencer promotion of covered crypto-asset services and crypto-assets, with exceptions linked to the regulatory status of the advertiser or issuer. Earlier versions referred to French digital-asset service-provider registration, approval and token-offering visa concepts; the current wording is aligned to MiCA after French implementation measures.
Disclosure, contracts and cross-border targeting
The law also addresses how commercial influence must be presented. Article 5-2 treats the absence of a clear, readable and understandable indication of commercial intent as potentially misleading where that intent does not already appear from context. It gives “publicité” and “collaboration commerciale” as examples of labels that may be used, with equivalent labels possible depending on the format.
Article 8 requires written contracts between influencers, advertisers, agents or mandataries when the statutory threshold is met. The contract must address party identity, mission scope, compensation or in-kind benefits, rights and obligations, and French-law submission where the contract has the object or effect of implementing commercial influence aimed at a French audience. A 2025 decree set the written-contract threshold at €1,000 excluding VAT from January 1, 2026, based on remuneration and benefits tied to a promotional objective during the same year.
Article 9 adds cross-border obligations for certain influencers outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland when they target France, including designation of an EU representative and civil-liability insurance with an EU insurer. Article 5-1 contains EEA-related scope limits and procedures that should be reviewed before applying the French restrictions to actors established in another EEA state.
Status and timeline
The law was promulgated on June 9, 2023, published in the Journal officiel on June 10, 2023, and many core provisions have been in force since June 11, 2023. Crypto-facing language has been amended since enactment, especially through Ordinance n° 2024-936 adapting French law to MiCA, Ordinance n° 2024-978 revising the commercial-influence framework for EU-law conformity, and Law n° 2025-391. As of July 6, 2026, the current Article 4 crypto wording has been in force since July 1, 2026.
Regulatory monitoring remains active. In January 2026, the AMF and ESMA reminded finance influencers that non-compliance with the French influencer law can carry sanctions and pointed to the finance module of the ARPP/AMF responsible-influence certificate. Editors should also note that the Senate’s application tracker lists the Article 17 government evaluation report as awaiting publication.