In August 2026, Telephone marketing has changed its logic in France : A professional can no longer call you to sell you something without having obtained your prior consent.It is therefore no longer up to you to indicate that you do not want to be disturbed, but up to the salesperson to be able to prove that you agreed to be called.
A small revolution for all those who have ever turned off their phones in the middle of lunch to find out they were probably paying way too much for their insurance, electricity or windows.
Of course, some unwanted calls will still come through. Fortunately, you can block them, report them… or, for the more adventurous, turn the tables on the telemarketer.
Telemarketing calls require your consent.
The rule is quite simple: to contact you for sales purposes by telephone, a company must have collected free, specific, informed and clearly expressed consentAn ambiguous box, a pre-filled statement, or simply continuing to browse a site is not sufficient.
The professional must also be able to prove that you gave your consent. And if you change your mind, you can withdraw it at any time, including simply by saying so during the call.
There are, however, some exceptions. A company with which you already have a contract may, for example, call you if it directly relates to the execution of that contract. The press is also among the exceptions when it comes to selling newspaper or magazine subscriptions.
Even when a sales call is permitted, not everything is allowed: telemarketers can call Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 13 p.m. and from 14 p.m. to 20 p.m., excluding public holidays. Furthermore, the same professional cannot attempt to contact you more than four times within a 30-day period.
In short, if someone calls you on a Sunday morning to sell you a heat pump that you never asked for, several warning lights are already flashing red.
And what about the calls that still go through?
On both Android and iPhone, you can block a number directly from the call history and activate the functions for detecting or filtering suspicious calls.
Applications like SaracrocheOrange Phone or Truecaller can also help. Just remember to check the permissions requested before granting them access to your calls.
For voice spam, you can also use the 33700which allows you to report this type of call for free.
Alternatively, turn the script against the salesperson.
And then there's this form!
He presents a technique from the Netherlands: preparing your own script to respond to telemarketers. Instead of passively receiving their questions, you start asking your own by following a simple decision tree.
The principle is quite brilliant since you ultimately use the same method as the person you're talking to. Name, company, reason for the call, origin of your number… each answer corresponds to the next step in the scenario.
With any luck, he'll be the one who ends up looking for the hang-up button.
Let's be clear : This alternative scenario will not replace blocking or reporting an abusive call.But, if you have a few minutes to spare and a particularly motivated salesperson happens upon you, you might as well reverse the roles.
After all, they have a script. Now you have yours.
