The Union des Fabricants (UNIFAB) – a French association dedicated to promoting and defending intellectual property rights, comprising 200 companies and trade associations from all sectors of activity – is calling on consumers to be vigilant when shopping, by learning how to spot counterfeit products, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises and the dangers that counterfeits pose to health and safety, the environment, and the economy. This awareness campaign aims to inform the general public of all the tips for recognising genuine and counterfeit products across every sector.
‘YOU TOO CAN DO YOUR RESEARCH – LEARN HOW TO SPOT A COUNTERFEIT’ is the message being promoted by Unifab’s ambassadors between July and August 2026, who will be meeting holidaymakers on the beaches and at markets across the south of France, notably in: Cannes, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle, Pampelonne, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cassis, Bandol, Aix-en-Provence, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, etc.
The campaign will be launched from Cannes Town Hall on 16 July at 11.00 am during a press conference attended by Christophe Blanchet, Member of Parliament, Vice-President of the National Assembly and Co-President of the CNAC, the Director-General of the INPI, Pascal Faure, the Regional Director of Customs in Marseille, Michael Lachaux, Lieutenant-Colonel Ludovic Laine of the Gendarmerie, Fabrice Cotelle, Divisional Commissioner for the southern zone of the Judicial Police, as well as partners and local elected representatives.
The event will conclude with a visit to an exhibition of counterfeit goods organised by the local Customs authorities and a public destruction ceremony on the forecourt of the Town Hall.
A genuine global scourge, counterfeiting accounts for 2.5 per cent of world trade; it capitalises on trends, and counterfeiters are redoubling their efforts to swindle consumers, notably by normalising the purchase of counterfeit goods under the term ‘dupe’, which is nothing more than a counterfeit product disguised as a bargain. ‘Dupes’ infringe intellectual property rights and can endanger consumers’ health. This danger is quantified by telling figures from surveys conducted by IFOP:
- 34% of French consumers have bought a counterfeit item believing it to be genuine; this figure rises to 37% among 15–18-year-olds;
- 64% of consumers aged between 15 and 35 believe that buying a ‘dupe’ is the same as buying a counterfeit;
- 51% will type the word ‘dupe’ into a search engine to find counterfeit products.
- he website contrefacon.fr, which hosts a tool developed in collaboration with the INPI as part of the France Anti-Contrefaçon initiative, specifically designed to inform consumers and provide them with all the information they need – through tips tailored to different sectors – on how to distinguish genuine from counterfeit 3D models. At the end, consumers are invited to take a quiz to test their knowledge;
- the promotion of a visual designed to highlight the sectors affected by counterfeiting, in partnership with JCDecaux, displayed at over 500 urban advertising sites across France, at the country’s main customs posts – particularly at airports – as well as at over 3,000 gendarmerie and police stations;
- a major digital campaign rolled out simultaneously on Snapchat, TikTok and Google, to raise awareness more widely amongst young people;
- over 150,000 leaflets and promotional items distributed to holidaymakers until the end of August, setting out six ‘tips’ per sector, in French and English, to help people avoid being scammed;
In 2025, more than 20 million counterfeit goods were seized by French Customs.
The commitment of Cannes City Council, spearheaded by its Mayor, Mr David Lisnard, has for many years demonstrated the city’s pioneering role and its determination to play an active part in the fight against counterfeiting. This initiative addresses several key issues: consumer protection and the defence of intellectual property rights. Following on from the official launch of this operation in Cannes, Unifab will travel to San Remo, alongside its Italian sister organisation, Indicam, and local public authorities, to hold a consumer awareness session at the market on Saturday 18 July. This cross-border extension demonstrates Unifab’s commitment to taking its prevention message beyond French borders, to one of the major tourist destinations on the Italian Riviera, and to strengthening European cooperation in the face of a phenomenon that knows no borders.
Christian Peugeot, President of UNIFAB“Every summer, we reach out to consumers to talk to them about the impacts of counterfeiting. But this year, we’re taking a decisive step forward: we’re no longer content simply to warn them; we’re giving them the tools to take action. Investigating means understanding that behind every counterfeit product lies a far darker reality – one involving health, the environment and crime. And it means making an informed decision to stop buying them.”
Delphine Sarfati-Sobreira, Directrice Générale de l’UNIFAB
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