France
Legal gold titles run 999, 916, 750, 585 and 375 — the floor is 375, not 18 carat. The 1994 law deliberately opened the market below 750, which is exactly the fact the "France requires 18K" claim gets backwards.
| Property | Value | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum fineness to sell as "gold" | 375 thousandths (9 carat). The loi du 4 janvier 1994 maintained the high-title tradition at 22 and 18 carats (916 and 750) AND opened the market to 585 and 375 (14 and 9 carats). A further legal title of 999 was created for each precious metal on 29 August 2001. [2] Corrects a claim repeated across English-language sources that France requires 18 carat. The administering authority describes the 1994 law as opening the market below 750, not restricting it to 750. | — |
| Hallmarking compulsory | Yes [2] Administered by the customs administration rather than an independent assay office. From 20 November 2001 exemption thresholds from the guarantee hallmark begin at under 3 grams. Since 1994 a French-domiciled manufacturer may be authorised to apply the mark itself under a defined cahier des charges. | — |
| Vienna Convention (CCM) member | No [1] NOT a contracting state, despite compulsory domestic hallmarking. France operates its own national poinçon system outside the Convention, so a French hallmark does not carry the Common Control Mark. Germany is likewise absent. | — |
Sources
- Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals — Contracting States — Standing Committee of the Hallmarking Convention (Vienna Convention on Hallmarks, Contracting States list)
- Garantie des métaux précieux à travers l’Histoire — Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects — DGDDI (French customs administration) (DGDDI, Garantie des métaux précieux)