Stop on planned obsolescence (HOP): a decade of a vital fight and the urgency of continuing

On the occasion of the ten years of the offense of planned obsolescence, introduced by the energy transition law for green growth, the Halte Association in planned obscolescence (HOP), constituted in parallel with this original fight, organized, yesterday, Friday June 6, 2025, a colloquium in the Senate, coorganized by the Sené Ghislaine Senator, entitled “A decade to extend the life of products. And tomorrow? ». This day made of round tables, speaking of experts, actors and elected officials, then citizen workshops, was an opportunity to take stock of the past ten years and on what remains to be done between optimism and enthusiasm pegged to the body and the humility of rigor in the face of this Cyclopéan work …

Ten years of advances and fights …

“In 2015, France will have been the first country in the world to recognize the offense of planned obsolescence”recalls in the introduction the senator of the Yvelines. “A historic step, and we measure today the impact it has had on ambitious policies, especially relating to the lifespan of products, but also in the development of the circular economy. »»
Realistic and combative, Laetitia Vasseur, co -founder and general delegate of the HOP association puts this major advance into perspective: “Friends asked me what this crime was going to be used for. What I replied to: ‘Well to nothing …’»»she recalls, amused. Because if this progress is essential, it was just a first step. “Having been a parliamentary collaborator, I also know the limits of the law and the application of the law. If there is no one to claim the application of this law, it will not apply … “Comments Laetitia Vasseur, to explain, at the same time, the need to create the HOP association, to defend consumers and continue to bring the fight. And even more than carry it, give it life: “Lobbies that I had interviewed in parliamentary hearings said to me: ‘But you know, consumers are not interested in the question of sustainability, they want low prices, and then that’s it’ »»recalls the general delegate of Hop to give the measure of the state of mind then.

And the senator to recall the “Tenacity of the members of this association who never hesitated to face lobbies and all powerful companies to put them in front of their societal and environmental responsibilities”. Because, Hop actually attacked, through four complaints, to tech giants, such as Apple, Epson or HP. The first having even been sentenced to a fine of 25 million euros fine.

Background effects, a long -term vision

But four procedures in ten years, and no trial ultimately may seem very little. This is because this fight is a legal fight, in traditionally long time, but also a substantial race with multiple facets. “The offense of planned obsolescence is only the emerged part of the iceberg”puts Laetitia Vasseur into perspective, “Behind it is ultimately the scheduled sustainability that we want”. This explains the strategy of societal and systemic change of HOP, the creation of a magazine on sustainable products, a national reparation day, participation in working groups on repairability and sustainability, the presence of the Association of the National Circular Economy (CNEC), the creation of a scientific committee to give more weight to the arguments of its Plaidoyers, etc.

The difficulty of applying the law

And the fight for a circular, sustainable economy, the fight against planned obsolescence, is done in a very ” complex “with “Very technical issues”specifies Ambroise Pascal, delegate for the ecological transition to the DGCCRF, involved in one of the round tables. “To draw up a report of offense of obsolescence, there must be a material element and there must be an intentional element”he continues, “And on these two points we are not far from what can be done harder in terms of complexity of evidence”. This affects the advanced technical analysis of a device as much as to reflections on what the normal life of a product should be.
But, beyond this police work, which is one of the attributions of the DGCCRF, arises “The question of available legal tools”deepens Ambroise Pascal. “The Swiss knife at the DGCCRF is the misleading commercial practice. It is a legal tool that makes it possible to operate with much more diverse practices, with perhaps a little less constraints in terms of evidence. And this is why certain cases related to planned obsolescence end up being treated by this means as was the case for the complaint against Apple in 2018 ”he enlightens.

The need to create the law

During the same round table, Jacques Fernique, senator from Bas-Rhin, argues that, to facilitate the task of DGCCRF and justice, “The inversion of the evidence” could be a solution. It would then be up to the manufacturer to prove that he did not reduce the life of his product.
To prove the difficulty of acting, in a legal framework still to be built, Lise Breteau, lawyer specializing in ecology and digital transition, underlines that in terms of software obsolescence, “It is that the legislators did not seize the subject. The right of updates does not exist, it is right to create. »» A right that should “Distinguish enough” The three types of software updates (security, bug or scalable correction) to apply different legal regimes.

More embarrassing, sometimes, for Lise Breteau, “The legislator also completely misses the real problem”in particular through the European Directive 2019-771, which is also essential, which says, in its considering n ° 30, that a manufacturer is not obliged to provide evolutionary updates. But “The problem is that the manufacturer requires scalable updates, not the other way around”explains the lawyer. Which leads to “Phenomena such as the premature obsolescence of 240 million computers because of the passage from Windows 10 to Windows 11. This is concerning both for the environment and for social justice”asserts Breteau Lise. Before recalling that the law must impose “A much longer update obligation”. Limited to two or five years today, “We almost need to increase the update durations tenfold” So that functional equipment does not become obsolete prematurely, after only ten years.

The need for a systemic change, to avoid “a world without us”

David Cormand, European deputy, participating in the round table “Measure the impact, anatomy of a societal change”, insists on the importance of laws, European directives for two reasons. First of all, “Because these text batteries send a determining signal including the economy and industry”then because they align all the countries of the European Union with the same position. Gold, “The strength of Europe is to be the first market in the world”he assures. It is therefore this weight that must be played.
The Green Claims directive, which aims to “prevent companies from making deceptive remarks on the environmental merits of their products and services”, is essentially. For the European deputy, advertising is “The herd of elephants rides by whales” in the room. This is the axis on which we will have to change the situation, to slow down or put a brake on the traditional consumer economy, called linear.

What Jeanne Guien, doctor of philosophy, guest of the round table entitled “Towards the circular economy: utopia or reality? “Calls the “Neophilia”. “This aspiration to love new things comes mainly from communication”she explains. “It’s not just advertising media, there is packaging, merchandising, there is also education”she says. “But we cannot continue to produce all these irregulated flows of discourse”says the researcher specialist in consumerism, who calls for a change of mentality.
Because “The promotion of ecology is ultimately talking about the place of man in the world. And, if nothing is done, it will be a world without us ”Slides Brice Huet, general commissioner and interministerial delegate for sustainable development and also guest from the round table “to the circular economy: utopia or reality? ».

In the short term, without change of mentality and the system, the circular economy will continue not to gain momentum, with less than ten percent of repaired devices, it will continue not to fulfill its missions. It does not replace the linear economy, it is added to it, including with the problematic rebound effects, which can serve as an excuse for consumption, explains Flore Berlingen, co-founder of the observatory of the polluter pays. For her, the circular economy must evolve, detach itself from its inheritance and image linked to “Its waste management history” and which pushes to adopt “Bad indicators”.

Hence a necessity, put forward by many participants in these round tables. That of piloting of “Better conducted systemic change”for Senator Jacques Fernique, in particular to better publicize the solutions already deployed, such as the repair bonus of which only 30% of the envelope are used. Or even a systemic substantive change, which will not take place without the citizen, without each of us. For Julie Madon, Doctor of Sociology and Author of the Essay Make objects,, “Public speeches on minimalism or sobriety” are an important first step, they “Equip consumers with discursive resources to legitimize fights”and reduce the brakes to change, such as social standards. But you have to go further.

Major projects, major challenges, “The program for the next ten years”Enthusiastic Laetitia Vasseur, who is already preparing the rest. With an exhaustive study to be released at the end of the month on consumer incentives, and a large project to constitute an international alliance with European associations and actors who wish to better carry the fight and make the way for programmed sustainability.
And faced with the titanic work that awaits hop and each of us, Laetitia Vasseur wishes to recall a reality. “Ten years ago, it would have been impossible to discuss sobriety, drop in consumption”she concludes. “We will not change everything, but we draw a trajectory. Little by little, without letting go, and that makes the difference. »» With the general interest in mind and patience and determination, Hop advances, with small leaps.

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