The French Constitutional Council has rejected an attempt by Viagogo and Ticketbis to contest a law that criminalises the resale of tickets for events without the authorisation of the promoter.
Currently, touts are liable to pay fines of up to €30,000 for touting at events that they have not received permission from the event organiser or rightsholder to sell tickets.
The Council commented: “by introducing the contested provisions, the legislature has, on the one hand, intended to prevent disturbances to public order in certain events, particularly sporting events“.
“Indeed, the implementation of certain security measures, such as the administrative or judicial prohibitions of access to these events or the control of the placement of the audience, which rely on the identification of persons purchasing these titles, may be hampered by the resale of access rights“.
The Council also maintained that it wanted to guarantee that consumers had access to sporting, music and cultural events.
The decision has been welcomed by France’s live music association Prodiss, several other live music organisations, and the French Prime Minister.
Malika Séguineau, Director of French Live Music Association at Prodiss, commented: “This decision strongly reinforces the French law. The law protects the consumers, the fans, the artists and the promoters, against the drifts engendered by the illicit resale of tickets. We welcome today’s decision, especially as Prodiss, alongside several promoters, have parallelly filed a criminal action against Viagogo. The judge is soon to be appointed. Our legal actions go alongside our campaign www.fanpasgogo.fr”
The move has been supported by the French Prime Minister and several major sport and live music organisations, including: Association Nationale des Ligues de Sport Professionnel (ANLSP), the Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR), the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), GIP France2023 , the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), Première Ligue, Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique (SACEM), Syndicat national du spectacle musical et de variété (Prodiss), and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).