CGV

(excerpt from Decree 94-490 of 15/06/1994) : (...)

Art. 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, any offer and any sale of travel services or stays give rise to the delivery of appropriate documents that meet the rules defined by the present title.

In the case of the sale of air tickets or tickets for scheduled air travel not accompanied by services related to such travel, the seller shall issue to the purchaser one or more tickets for the entire journey issued by the carrier or under its responsibility. 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 the various elements of the same tourist package does not exempt the seller from his obligations under this title.

Art. 96 - Prior to the conclusion of the contract and on the basis of a written document, bearing his company name, his address and the indication of his administrative authorization to practice, the seller must communicate to the consumer information on the prices, dates and other elements constituting the services provided on the occasion of the trip or stay, such as

1. The destination, means, characteristics and categories of transport used;
2. The type of accommodation, its location, its level of comfort and its main characteristics, its approval and its tourist classification in accordance with the regulations or customs of the host country;
3. The meals provided;
4. The description of the itinerary when it is a tour;
5. The administrative and sanitary formalities to be completed in the event of border crossings, as well as the time required to complete them;
6. The visits, excursions and other services included in the package or possibly available at an additional cost;
7. The minimum or maximum size of the group allowing the realization of the trip or the stay as well as, if the realization of the trip or the stay is subordinated to a minimum number of participants, the deadline of information of the consumer in the event of cancellation of the trip or the stay; this date cannot be fixed at less than twenty one days before the departure;
8. The amount or percentage of the price to be paid as a deposit at the conclusion of the contract as well as the payment schedule for the balance;
9. The terms of price revision as provided for in the contract in application of article 100 of this decree;
10. Cancellation conditions of a contractual nature;
11. The cancellation conditions defined in articles 101, 102 and 103 below;
12. Details concerning the risks covered and the amount of guarantees subscribed to under the insurance contract covering the consequences of the professional civil liability of travel agencies and the civil liability of associations and non-profit organizations and local tourism organizations;
13. Information concerning the optional subscription of an insurance contract covering the consequences of certain cases of cancellation or of an assistance contract covering certain specific risks, in particular the costs of repatriation in the event of accident or illness.

Art. 97 - The prior information given to the consumer is binding on the seller, unless the seller has expressly reserved the right to modify certain elements of it. In this case, the seller must clearly indicate the extent to which this modification may occur and on which elements. In any event, the changes to the prior information must be communicated to the consumer in writing before the contract is concluded.

Art. 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:

1. The name and address of the seller, his guarantor and his insurer as well as the name and address of the organizer;
2. The destination or destinations of the trip and, in the case of a split trip, the different periods and their dates;
3. The means, characteristics and categories of transportation used, the dates, times and places of departure and return;
4. The type of accommodation, its location, its level of comfort and its main characteristics, its tourist classification under the regulations or customs of the host country;
5. The number of meals provided;
6. The itinerary when it is a tour;
7. The visits, excursions or other services included in the total price of the trip or stay;
8. The total price of the services invoiced as well as the indication of any possible revision of this invoicing by virtue of the provisions of article 100 below;
9. The indication, where applicable, of fees or taxes relating to certain services such as landing, disembarkation or embarkation taxes in ports and airports, and tourist taxes when they are not included in the price of the service(s) provided;
10. The schedule and terms of payment of the price; in any case, the last payment made by the buyer may not be less than 30% of the price of the trip or stay and must be made when the documents allowing the trip or stay to be carried out are handed over;
11. The special conditions requested by the buyer and accepted by the seller;
12. The methods by which the purchaser may submit a complaint to the vendor for non-performance or poor performance of the contract, a complaint which must be sent as soon as possible by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt to the vendor, and notified in writing, if necessary, to the travel organizer and the service provider concerned;
13. The deadline for informing the purchaser in the event of cancellation of the trip or stay by the vendor in the event that the trip or stay is linked to a minimum number of participants, in accordance with the provisions of 7° of article 96 above;
14. Cancellation conditions of a contractual nature;
15. Cancellation conditions of a contractual nature;
16. Details of the risks covered and the amount of the guarantees under the insurance contract covering the consequences of the seller's professional civil liability;
17. Information concerning the insurance contract covering the consequences of certain cases of cancellation taken out by the buyer (policy number and name of the insurer), as well as those concerning the assistance contract covering certain specific risks, in particular the cost of repatriation 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;
18. The deadline for informing the seller in the event of transfer of the contract by the buyer;
19. The commitment to provide the buyer, in writing, at least ten days prior to the scheduled departure date, with the following information:
    a) The name, address and telephone number of the seller's local representative or, failing that, the names, addresses and telephone numbers of local organizations likely to help the consumer in the event of difficulty, or, failing that, the telephone number for urgent contact with the seller;
    b) For trips and stays of minors abroad, a telephone number and an address allowing direct contact with the child or the person in charge of the stay.

Art. 99 - The purchaser may assign his contract to a transferee 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 seller of his decision by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt at the latest seven days before the beginning of the trip. In the case of a cruise, this period is extended to fifteen days. This transfer is not subject, under any circumstances, to prior authorization by the seller.

Art. 100 - When the contract includes an express possibility of price revision, within the limits provided for in Article 19 of the aforementioned Law of 13 July 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 of the trip or stay, the part of the price to which the variation applies, the rate of the currency or currencies used as a reference when establishing the price appearing in the contract.

Art. 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 recourse for compensation for damages that may have been suffered, and after having been informed by the seller by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt :

• > either cancel the contract and obtain an immediate refund 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 buyer and, if the payment already made by the latter exceeds the price of the modified service, the excess amount must be returned to him before the date of his departure.

Art. 102 - In the case provided for in Article 21 of the aforementioned Law of July 13, 1992, when, before the buyer's departure, the seller cancels the trip or stay, he must inform the buyer by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt; the buyer, without prejudice to any recourse for compensation for damages that may have been suffered, obtains from the seller the immediate replacement of the sums paid without penalty; the buyer receives, in this case, an indemnity at least equal to the penalty he would have incurred if the cancellation had occurred on his own initiative on this date.

The provisions of the present article do not in any way prevent the conclusion of an amicable agreement for the purpose of acceptance by the buyer of a substitute traveler or stay proposed by the seller.

Art. 103 - When, after the buyer's departure, the seller is unable to provide a major part of the services provided for in the contract, representing a significant percentage of the price paid by the buyer, the seller must immediately take the following measures, without prejudice to any recourse for compensation for damage suffered. – Lorsque, après le départ de l’acheteur, le vendeur se trouve dans l’impossibilité de fournir une part prépondérante des services prévus au contrat représentant un pourcentage non négligeable du prix honoré par l’acheteur, le vendeur doit immédiatement prendre les dispositions suivantes sans préjuger des recours en réparation pour dommages éventuellement subis.

• > either propose services to replace the services provided for, possibly bearing any additional cost and, if the services accepted by the buyer are of inferior quality, the seller must reimburse the buyer, upon his return, for the price difference;
• > or, if the seller cannot propose any replacement service or if these are refused by the buyer for valid reasons, to provide the buyer, at no extra cost, with transport tickets to ensure his return under conditions that can be considered equivalent to the place of departure or to another place accepted by both parties.

Art. 104 - The provisions of articles 95 to 103 of the present decree must appear on the brochures and travel contracts offered by the persons referred to in article 1 of the aforementioned law of 13 July 1992. (...)