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At the request of French companies, the French Council of State judge has suspended a new decree due to come into force on May 1 prohibiting the use of butcher's and delicatessen terms such as "steak" to denote products containing vegetable proteins.
The interim relief judge considers that there are serious doubts about the legality of this ban. When examining an appeal against a first decree on the same subject this doubt had led the Council of State to ask the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in July 2023 about the possibility for a Member State to adopt national measures regulating or prohibiting this type of designation. Pending a response from the CJEU, the interim relief judge has suspended the new decree on the grounds that it would also seriously and immediately harm the interests of manufacturers who exclusively sell this type of product.
In a decree published on June 29, 2022, the Government prohibited the use of the terms "meat" or "charcuterie" to designate a product containing vegetable proteins. In July 2022, the judge for urgent requests of the Council of State partially suspended this first decree. In July 2023, the Council referred a number of questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the request for annulment of the decree.
A new decree, dated February 26, 2024, repeals the 2022 decree, although it incorporates virtually identical measures, with effect from May 1. It clarifies the ban with a list of prohibited terms, such as "steak", "escalope" and "ham". The decree has been suspended by the injunction judge, following an appeal filed by six of the affected companies.
April 10, 2024/ Council of State/ France.
https://www.conseil-etat.fr/
