Key Benefits:
The National Assembly and the Senate adopted,
Vu la Constitutional Council decision No. 2010-601 DC of 4 February 2010;
The President of the Republic enacts the following legislation:
After Article 1-1 of the Act No. 90-568 of 2 July 1990 relating to the organization of the public service of the post and to France Télécom, an article 1er-2 is inserted as follows:
"Art. 1-2.-I. ― The public legal entity La Poste is transformed from 1 March 2010 to an anonymous company called La Poste. The capital of the company is held by the State, a majority shareholder, and by other legal persons of public law, except for the share of the capital that may be held under the shareholding of the personnel under the conditions laid down in this Act. This transformation cannot result in the questioning of La Poste's national public service.
"On the date of publication of its original statutes, the capital of La Poste is wholly owned by the State.
"This transformation does not lead to the creation of a new legal person. All property, rights, obligations, contracts, conventions and authorizations of any nature of the legal person of public law La Poste, in France and outside France, are in full law and without formality those of the anonymous company La Poste from the date of the transformation. The latter has no impact on these assets, rights, obligations, contracts, agreements and authorizations and in particular does not result in any modification of the contracts and agreements that are being entered into by La Poste or the companies that are related to it under sections L. 233-1 to L. 233-4 of the Commercial Code, or their termination or, where applicable, the advance refund of the debts that are subject to it. The transformation into an anonymous society does not affect the administrative acts taken by La Poste. All transactions resulting from the transformation of La Poste into society are carried out free of charge and do not give rise to any tax, remuneration, salary or honorary for the benefit of the State, its agents or any other public person.
“II. ― The Post is subject to the statutory provisions applicable to anonymous companies to the extent that they are not contrary to this Act.
« Les first and fourth paragraphs of Article L. 225-24 of the Commercial Code apply in the event of a vacancy of directors designated by the General Assembly.
"The first paragraph of section L. 228-39 of the same code does not apply to La Poste.
"Article L. 225-40 of the same code does not apply to the agreements between the State and La Poste pursuant to Articles 6 and 9 of this Act. »
Section 2 of the Act is thus drafted:
"Art. 2.-La Poste and its subsidiaries constitute a public group that performs public service and public interest missions and carries out other activities under the conditions defined by this Act and by the laws that govern each of its areas of activity.
"The postal networks have an important territorial and social dimension that allows universal access to essential local services.
"I. ― Public service and public interest missions are:
« 1° Universal postal service, under the conditions defined by the Post and Electronic Communications Code, including Articles L. 1 and L. 2;
« 2° The contribution, through its network of points of contact, to the development and development of the territory under the conditions set out in section 6 of this Act;
« 3° The transport and distribution of the press within the framework of the specific regime provided for by the Post and Electronic Communications Code, including its article L. 4;
« 4° Bank accessibility under the conditions provided by the monetary and financial codeincluding articles L. 221-2 and L. 518-25-1.
“II. ― The Post provides in accordance with the rules of common law any other activity of collecting, sorting, transporting and distributing postal mail, mail in all its forms, objects and goods.
"The Post Office operates, through its subsidiary The Postal Bank, activities in the banking, financial and insurance fields, under the conditions provided for in the monetary and financial code.
"The Post Office is authorized to operate in France and abroad, itself and through subsidiaries or participations, any activities that directly or indirectly relate to its tasks and activities as defined by law, as well as any other activity provided for by its statutes. »
Section 6 of the Act is amended as follows:
1° After the first sentence of the second paragraph of I, four sentences are inserted:
"This network has at least 17,000 points of contact spread across the French territory, taking into account the specificities of the French territory, particularly in overseas departments and communities.On an experimental basis, La Poste provides users with high-speed Internet access from their personal terminals until 31 December 2011 in a hundred representative post offices. Three months before that date, the Government submits to Parliament a report in which the law can extend and adapt the system. The change in La Poste status has no impact on public and private local partnerships to adapt its network of points of contact. » ;
2° In the penultimate sentence of the second paragraph of I, the words "this partnership" are replaced by the words "the partnerships";
3° After the first paragraph of the second paragraph, a sub-item reads as follows:
"An assessment of the management of the Equalization Fund that sets out the level of staffing for each department as well as the information to allow it to be allocated annually to Parliament and to the chairs of the departmental territorial postal presence commissions. » ;
4° After the second preambular paragraph of the second preambular paragraph, a sub-item reads as follows:
"The multi-year contract of the territorial postal presence sets the guidelines for the management of the national postal fund of territorial equalization. It also specifies the conditions, in particular in terms of opening hours and basic offer of postal and financial services, of quality, information, improvement and service commitments to users, that the points of contact must be fulfilled according to their characteristics and in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The conditions for the opening hours of the points of contact provide for the adaptation of these times to the lifestyles of the population served. It organizes, in particular in the communes of more than fifty thousand inhabitants, on an experimental basis and after consultation with the representatives of the staff, the opening of a post office up to twenty and one hour a working day per week, after advice of the departmental commission of territorial postal presence. It also specifies the conditions for reducing the opening hours of a post office in relation to its activity observed during a significant reference period. »
I. ― Section 6 of the Act is amended as follows:
1° In the first paragraph of the second paragraph, after the word "financing" the words are inserted: "cost of";
2° It is added an IV as follows:
"IV. ― The Authority for the regulation of electronic communications and posts is responsible for assessing each year the net cost of the complementary mesh to ensure the development mission of the territory entrusted to La Poste in I. The Post shall transmit to the authority, upon request, the information and accounting documents necessary for this evaluation. A decree in the Council of State, taken after the opinion of the Superior Commission of the Public Service of Posts and Electronic Communications and published by March 31, 2010, specifies the method of evaluation implemented.
"The Authority for the regulation of electronic communications and posts, after the advice of the Superior Commission for the Public Service of Posts and Electronic Communications, reports annually to the Government and Parliament on the net cost of this mesh.
"The fund referred to in the first paragraph of the II is powered by La Poste to compete with the local tax relief it receives under the 3° of Article 1635 sexies of the General Tax Code. This relief is reviewed annually on the basis of the evaluation carried out by the Autorité de régulation des communications électronique et des postes. »
II. ― The first paragraph of the 3rd paragraph of Article 21 of the Act is supplemented by a sentence as follows:
"The rate of slaughter is revised annually in accordance with 3° of Article 1635 sexies of the General Tax Code. »
III. ― The 3rd of the II of Article 1635 sexies of the General Tax Code is supplemented by a paragraph thus written:
"Each year, beginning in fiscal year 2011, the rate of slaughters referred to in the first paragraph of this 3° is set, within 95% limit, so that the proceeds of these slaughters contribute to the financing of the cost of the complementary territorial grid of La Poste as assessed by the Authority for the regulation of electronic communications and posts, in accordance with the IV of Article 6 of Law No. 90-568 of 2 July 1990 relating to the organization of the public service of the post and to France Télécom and under conditions defined by decree in the Council of State; "
The last paragraph of the III of Article 6 of Act No. 90-568 of 2 July 1990 above is deleted.
Section 9 of the Act is thus drafted:
"Art. 9.-The State concludes with La Poste the business contract mentioned in theArticle 140 of Law No. 2001-420 of 15 May 2001 on new economic regulations. In particular, this contract determines the objectives of the four public service and general interest missions referred to in section I of this Act. It proposes quality of service objectives for the various services of the universal postal service, including the waiting times of users in the mail office network and the speed and effectiveness of processing their claims. It contains La Poste's commitments to combat and prevent debt, in particular with regard to credit for renewable consumption, and to promote micro-credit. Six months before its completion, the Government transmits to Parliament a preliminary assessment of the application of the business contract. »
Article 10 of the same Act is read as follows:
"Art. 10.-La Act No. 83-675 of 26 July 1983 relating to the democratization of the public sector applies to La Poste.
"However, by derogation from section 5 of the Act, the Board of Directors of La Poste is composed of twenty-one members. The representatives of each of the categories defined in 1°, 2° and 3° of the same Article 5 are seven. A representative of the municipalities and their groupings is among the personalities chosen because of their skills. A representative of La Poste users is also among the personalities chosen because of their skills.
"Whereas a legal person of public law, other than the State, referred to in I of Article 1-2 of this Act holds a share of the capital of La Poste, the board of directors of La Poste shall be composed, by derogation from the second, third and fourth sentences of the second paragraph of this article and to the second paragraph ofArticle 5 of Act No. 83-675 of 26 July 1983 referred to above :
“for a third party, representatives of employees elected under the conditions provided for in the chapter II of title II of Act No. 83-675 of 26 July 1983 referred to above ;
"– for two thirds, a representative of the communes and their groups, a representative of the users appointed by decree and representatives appointed by the general meeting of shareholders to ensure their representation reflecting their capital detention and allowing them to hold together the majority of voting rights in the board of directors. »
Article 11 of the Act is thus drafted:
"Art. 11.-The president of the board of directors of La Poste is appointed by decree. He manages the general direction of La Poste. »
Section 23 of the Act is amended as follows:
1° In the first sentence of the second paragraph, the words "by La Poste de ses obligations" are replaced by the words "by La Poste et ses subsidiaries de leurs obligations" and the words "of its plan contract" by the words "of the contract referred to in Article 9";
2° In the second sentence of the second paragraph, the words: "La Poste transmis" are replaced by the words: "La Poste et ses subsidiaries transmistent";
3° After the word "previous", the end of the third paragraph is thus written: "by La Poste or one of its subsidiaries, the nullity of the assignment or contribution may be requested by the State as soon as the sale price of the property concerned exceeds a threshold fixed by order of the minister responsible for the posts. »
I. ― Section 29-4 of the same Act is read as follows:
"Art. 29-4.-As of March 1, 2010, La Poste's employees are attached to La Poste's anonymous company and placed under the authority of its president who has the authority to appoint and manage them. The latter may delegate its powers of appointment and management and authorize subdelegation under the conditions of form, procedure and time determined by decree in the Council of State.
"The President of La Poste may institute allowances and allowances specific to La Poste officials, which may be modified to reflect the changes in other elements of the remuneration of public servants as they result from theArticle 20 of Act No. 83-634 of 13 July 1983 the rights and obligations of civil servants.
"Personal employees of La Poste remain subject to sections 29 and 30 of this Act. »
II. ― After the first paragraph of section 30 of the Act, a paragraph is inserted to read as follows:
"The Post may establish a mandatory collective system of supplementary social protection for the benefit of its personnel referred to in sections 29 and 44 of this Act, according to provisions of Article L. 911-1 of the Social Security Code and in conditions specified by decree. La Poste's contributions to the financing of benefits under this plan are excluded from the employer's contribution and social contributions in respect of the personnel referred to in sections 29 and 44 of this Act under the conditions provided by this ActArticle L. 242-1 of the Social Security Code. For the purpose of calculating the net amount of the taxable income of the personnel referred to in sections 29 and 44 of this Act, contributions made under this paragraph shall be assimilated to the contributions and premiums referred to in 1° quater of Article 83 of the General Tax Code. »
I. ― After section 29-5 of the Act, an article 29-6 is inserted as follows:
"Art. 29-6.-The employees of La Poste affiliated to the Institute of Complementary Retirement of Non-State Agents and Public Communities on the date of the company La Poste's accession to complementary pension institutions referred to in theArticle L. 922-1 of the Social Security Code they remain affiliated until the termination of the contract that binds them to their employer or to their transfer to an institution that is attached to the same section L. 922-1.
"The rights acquired by these affiliates, previous members, as well as their beneficiaries, are maintained at the Supplementary Retirement Institute for non-State agents and public authorities.
"A convention between the federations of complementary pension institutions referred to in theArticle L. 922-4 of the Social Security Code and the Institute for the Complementary Retirement of Non-State Officials and Public Communities organizes the financial transfers between these bodies taking into account the respective expenses and revenues.If the agreement is not signed as of 30 June 2010, a decree in the Council of State organizes these financial transfers.
"The accession of La Poste to complementary pension institutions referred to in Article L. 922-1 of the same code shall take place within six months of the signing of the agreement referred to in the third paragraph of this Article and no later than 31 December 2010. »
II. The first paragraph of section 31 of the Act is as follows:
"The Post employs contractual agents under collective agreements. »
Section 32 of the Act is amended as follows:
1° The first paragraph is preceded by the reference: "I. ―" and the references: "Articles L. 441-1 to L. 441-7" are replaced by the reference: "From Title I of Book III of Part III";
2° The third paragraph is preceded by the words: "III. ―", the words: "Every establishment or group of establishments of the public operator" are replaced by the words: "Every establishment or group of establishments of La Poste" and the words: "contract of plan of the public operator" are replaced by the words: "contract referred to in Article 9";
3° The fourth preambular paragraph is replaced by four sub-items:
"The other provisions of Book III of Part III of the Labour Code, with the exception of Title II, are applicable to all La Poste personnel, including those referred to in sections 29 and 44 of this Act. Capital increases or transfers of reserved shares may be made, within the framework of one or more joint investment funds, in accordance with sections L. 3332-18 et seq. of the Labour Code, subject to the following provisions.
"The value of the company is fixed by the Commission on Participations and Transfers within a maximum of one month from its referral by the Minister responsible for the economy. This assessment is conducted according to the common objective methods of total or partial disposal of corporate assets, taking into account, on an appropriate basis, the value of the assets, the benefits realized, the existence of subsidiaries and the prospects for the future. She's made public. The sale price is determined on the basis of the value of the corporation so determined. The subscription price shall be determined in accordance with the last paragraph of Article L. 3332-20 of the Labour Code not later than sixty days after the date of the valuation.
"Personals of La Poste and its affiliates as well as their rights holders can only hold a minority share of La Poste's capital.
"The title II of Book III of Part III of the Labour Code can be extended to all the personnel of La Poste under conditions fixed by decree in the Council of State. » ;
4° The last paragraph becomes the third paragraph and is preceded by the words "II. ―" and the references: "Chapters II, III and IV of Book IV" are replaced by the references: "Charts II, III and IV of Book III of Part III".
After section 32-2 of the Act, an article 32-3 is inserted as follows:
"Art. 32-3.-The Post may carry out free powers of action under the conditions laid down in sections L. 225-197-1 to L. 225-197-5 of the Commercial Code, subject to the provisions of Article 32 of this Law. These powers may also benefit La Poste personnel referred to in sections 29 and 44 of this Act.On the expiry of the acquisition period referred to in fifth paragraph of Article L. 225-197-1 of the Commercial Code, the shares allocated free of charge are made to one or more joint corporate investment funds. The retention obligation set out in the same I is applicable to the shares of the joint investment fund received in return for the contribution.
"For the free award of shares referred to in the first paragraph, the value of the corporation is fixed and made public under the same conditions as those provided for in the third paragraph of Article 32 of this Act. In addition, within one month of its referral by the Minister responsible for the economy, the Commission on Participations and Transfers may object to the operation if the conditions of the transaction are not in accordance with the heritage interests of public persons. The opposition of the commission is made public. Free shares must be issued no later than sixty days after the evaluation date. »
Section 48 of the Act is thus restored:
"Art. 48.-I. ― The initial statutes of the anonymous society La Poste and the transitional terms of its management until the installation of the statutory bodies are determined by a decree in the Council of State.As from the installation of the statutory bodies, these statutes can be modified under the conditions provided by the Trade code for anonymous companies.
“II. ― The accounts for the 2009 fiscal year of the public operator La Poste are approved under the conditions of common law by the General Assembly of La Poste. The balance sheet as at December 31, 2010 of La Poste is based on the balance sheet as at December 31, 2009 of the public operator and the result account for fiscal year 2010.
"III. ― Staff representatives elected on the date of February 28, 2010 shall remain in office until the end of their term of office and under the conditions provided for by Act No. 83-675 of 26 July 1983 referred to above.
"IV. ― The transformation of La Poste into an anonymous company does not affect the mandate of its current auditors on the date of this transformation. »
I. ― The same law is amended:
1° Section 1 is repealed;
2° In the first paragraph of Article 12, the words "of each" are deleted;
3° At each occurrence in the first paragraph of Article 12, in Article 27, in the second paragraph of Article 30, in the second and eighth paragraphs of Article 33 and in the first paragraph of Article 34, the words: "the public operator" are replaced by the words: "The Post";
4° In Article 20, after the word "persons", the words "and telecommunications" are inserted and the words "post public carried out by La Poste" are replaced by the words: "postal universal as defined by Article L. 1 of the postal and electronic communications code, carried out by the provider in France of the postal universal service as referred to in Article L. 2 of the same code";
5° At 3° of Article 21, each occurrence of the words: "this operator" is replaced by the words: "this company";
6° In the first paragraph of section 33-1, the words "public operator" are replaced by the words "society";
7° The second sentence of Article 4 is deleted;
8° Section 8 is amended as follows:
(a) The first paragraph is deleted;
(b) In the second paragraph, the word "also" is deleted and the words "public operator" are replaced by the words "La Poste";
9° In the second paragraph of the 3rd paragraph of Article 21, the year: "1996" is replaced by the year: "2010";
10° Articles 7, 14, 15, 19, 24, 25, 26, 28, 36, 39 and 40 are repealed;
11° In section 27, the words: "in the framework of the regulatory provisions specifying its rights and obligations and in conditions consistent with the principles set out in section 25" are deleted;
12° Section 29-1 is amended as follows:
(a) In the fourth preambular paragraph, the references: "in titles II and III of Book IV" are replaced by the references: "in titles I to IV of Book III of Part II";
(b) At the beginning of the second sentence of the fifth paragraph, the words: “The titles III and IV as well as chapters III and IV of title VI of Book II of the Labour Code are applicable” are replaced by the words: “The fourth part of the Labour Code is applicable”;
13° In article 30 bis, the words: "of Act No. 87-517 of 10 July 1987 are replaced by the words: "from Labour code » ;
14° At the beginning of section 31-3, the words: "Charts III and IV of Book II of the Labour Code apply" are replaced by the words: "Part IV of the Labour Code applies";
15° Section 33 is amended as follows:
(a) In the first paragraph, the words: "and especially common associative activities" are deleted;
(b) In the third paragraph, the words: "not concerning social activities" are deleted, the words: "a representative of each of the two operators" are replaced by the words: "a representative of La Poste and a representative of France Télécom" and the word "insurance" is replaced by the word "insurance";
(c) The fourth, seventh, ninth and tenth paragraphs are deleted;
16° In the first sentence of the second paragraph of Article 34, the words: "contract of plan of the public operator" are replaced by the words: "contract referred to in Article 9";
II. ― In article L. 323-8-6-1 of the Labour Code, the words "the public operator La Poste" are replaced by the words "La Poste".
In the first paragraph of Article L. 323-2 of the Labour Code, the words: "the public operator La Poste" are replaced by the words: "The Post until December 31, 2011".
The 4 of Article 261 of the General Tax Code is supplemented by an 11° as follows:
« 11° Services and other goods delivered to these services, with the exception of the carriage of persons and telecommunications, which fall under the universal postal service as defined by Article L. 1 of the Code of Posts and Electronic Communications, carried out by the provider in France of the universal postal service as referred to in Article L. 2 of the same Code. »
Section L. 1 of the Post and Electronic Communications Code is amended as follows:
1° In the first sentence of the second paragraph, after the word "conditioning", the words are inserted: ", including in the form of coded geographical coordinates,"
2° The fourth preambular paragraph is supplemented by a sentence as follows:
"Prices are cost-oriented and encourage efficient delivery, while taking into account the characteristics of the markets on which they apply. » ;
3° At the beginning of the fifth paragraph, the word "It" is replaced by the words "Universal Postal Service";
4° After the fifth preambular paragraph, a sub-item reads as follows:
"Post-to-unit mail services provided by the postal universal service provider are offered at the same rate throughout the metropolitan area. The rate applied to shipments of correspondence to the unit from and to overseas departments, Mayotte, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Wallis and Futuna Islands and French Southern and Antarctic Lands is the one in force on the metropolitan territory when these shipments fall under the first weight bracket. The same is true of the shipments of correspondence to the unit under the first tranche of weight from the metropolitan territory or the previously mentioned communities and to the French Polynesia and New Caledonia. » ;
5° The last paragraph is deleted.
The first four paragraphs of Article L. 2 of the same code are replaced by two paragraphs as follows:
"The Post is the provider of the universal postal service for a period of fifteen years from 1 January 2011. Every three years, the Government, after the advice of the Superior Commission of the Public Service of Posts and Electronic Communications and the Authority for the regulation of electronic communications and posts, informs Parliament of the conditions of execution by La Poste of its universal postal service mission and of the means implemented to improve it.
"In addition to the obligations resulting from the authorization provided for in Article L. 3, the postal universal service provider is subject, under the services under this service, to special obligations in the quality and accessibility of the service, the processing of the user's claims and, for specific benefits, compensation in the event of non-compliance with service quality commitments. It maintains a specific accounting of its activities in the field of universal service. It shall transmit, upon request of the Electronic Communications and Posts Regulatory Authority, any information and accounting document to ensure compliance with its obligations. »
The first paragraph of Article L. 2-1 of the same code is as follows:
"The provider of the universal service may conclude, together with the dispatchers of correspondence in number, the intermediaries grouping the correspondence of several customers or the holders of the authorization provided for in Article L. 3, contracts derogating from the general terms and conditions of the offer of the universal service and including special rates for business services, in accordance with the rules set out in the fourth paragraph of Article L. 1. »
Article L. 2-2 of the same code is amended as follows:
1° The first paragraph is supplemented by a sentence as follows:
"This fund provides funding for the net costs associated with universal service obligations. » ;
2° The second to fourth preambular paragraphs are as follows:
"The accounting and financial management of this fund is provided by a public institution. Management costs incurred by this institution are charged against the resources of the fund.
"The postal service providers who hold the authorization provided for in Article L. 3 contribute to the compensation fund for the postal service. The contribution of each provider to the fund is calculated on the basis of the number of postal mails it sends in the universal service field defined in the fifth paragraph of Article L. 1. These providers hold an accounting to identify the benefits on which the contribution is based. Any provider that delivers a number of correspondence shipments below a threshold set by order is exempt from contribution to the fund.
"The amount of net contributions to which authorized postal service providers are indebted to the fund and the amount of money due by the fund to the postal service provider in order to ensure the obligations of that service are determined by the Electronic Communications and Post Regulatory Authority. In order to do so and notwithstanding the accounting information provided under Article L. 5-2, the authority may request the universal service provider any information and study available to it to objectively assess the incremental costs associated with the universal service delivery. Contributions shall be recovered by the public institution referred to in the second paragraph of this section as with respect to tax on turnover with security rights, guarantees, privileges and penalties applicable to that tax. Claims are presented, investigated and judged as for this tax. »
I. ― Article L. 3 of the same code is as follows:
"Art.L. 3.- Postal services relating to domestic and transboundary correspondence are provided by any postal service provider, subject to the obtaining of an authorization issued by the Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority and posts under the conditions set out in Article L. 5-1. However, this authorization is not required if these services are limited to domestic correspondence and do not include distribution. »
II. ― In the second sentence of the first paragraph of Article L. 5-1 of the same code, the word "ten" is replaced by the word "15".
Article L. 3-2 of the same code is amended as follows:
1° After the b, a bbi is inserted as follows:
"b bis.) ― Guarantee the secret of correspondence, as well as the neutrality of postal services in relation to the identity of the sender and the nature of the mailings; »
2° E, f, g and h are added as follows:
“e) Establish simple, transparent and free claims processing procedures and respect the interests of users in accordance with Article L. 7 obligations;
“(f) Ensure access to services and facilities for persons with disabilities under the conditions set out in Article L. 111-7-3 of the Construction and Housing Code;
“(g) To comply with the applicable legal and treaty obligations in the field of labour law and the existing social security legislation, without prejudice to the specific provisions applicable to staff who, where applicable, have the status of a civil servant;
“(h) Respect public order and national defence obligations. »
Section L. 3-4 of the same code is repealed.
After the third paragraph of Article L. 5-1 of the same code, it is inserted a paragraph as follows:
"The Authority for the Control of Electronic Communications and Positions shall be informed by the licensee of the authorization of any modification that may affect the sustainability of its operation. The holder of the authorization shall communicate to the Authority for the regulation of electronic communications and posts the terms and conditions of the device provided for the continuity of the processing of correspondence in the event of judicial recovery or judicial liquidation. »
Article L. 5-2 of the same code is amended as follows:
1° The 3° and 4° are thus written:
« 3° Decide, after consideration of La Poste's proposal or, in the absence of a proposal, ex officio after informing it, of the characteristics of multi-year supervision of the rates of benefits of the universal service that may, if any, distinguish the shipments in number of the emittered consignments, and ensure respect for them. It is informed by La Poste, prior to their entry into force, of the universal service rates. Within one month of the transmission of these tariffs, it issues a public notice. It takes into account, in its decisions or opinions, the competitive situation of the markets, in particular for the review of the tariffs of the numbered consignments, and in this context ensures the sustainability of the universal service while ensuring fair competition. It amends or suspends the proposed tariffs for any universal service benefit if the tariff principles for universal service are clearly not met;
« 4° Ensure respect for the quality objectives of the universal service set by order of the Minister responsible for posts in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the decree provided for in section L. 2, as well as the publication and reliability of the quality measures of the corresponding services; it conducts annually by an independent organization a quality study of the service it publishes; »
2° The 6° is thus modified:
(a) In the first sentence, after the word: "costs", the words are inserted: " allowing the separation of common costs that fall under the universal service of those who do not fall under the responsibility of it";
(b) The last sentence is as follows:
"It publishes a declaration of conformity with respect to universal service. »
After article L. 5-7 of the same code, an article L. 5-7-1 is inserted as follows:
"Art. L. 5-7-1. - The Electronic Communications and Post Control Authority addresses the claims of users of postal services who could not be satisfied in the procedures established by authorized postal service providers. »
Article L. 17 of the same code is as follows:
"Art.L. 17.-Is punishable by a fine of € 50,000 by providing correspondence services in violation of section L. 3 or by a decision to suspend the authorization granted under the same section. »
In the first paragraph of section L. 18 of the same code, the words "one of the offences defined" are replaced by the words "the offence defined".
In the first sentence of Article L. 19 of the same code, the words "one of the offences defined" are replaced by the words "the offence defined".
In the first paragraph of Article L. 29 of the same code, after the words: "postal consignment" are inserted the words: "fake objects as well as".
Title I comes into force on March 1, 2010.
Title II comes into force on 1 January 2011.
This law will be enforced as a law of the State.
Done in Paris, 9 February 2010.
Nicolas Sarkozy
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
François Fillon
Minister of Economy,
industry and employment,
Christine Lagarde
Minister of Labour, Social Relations,
of the family, solidarity
and the city,
Xavier Darcos
Minister of Budget, Public Accounts,
Civil Service
and state reform,
Eric Woerth
Minister of Rural Space
and landscaping,
Michel Mercier
Minister to the Minister of Economy,
industry and employment,
responsible for the industry,
Christian Estrosi
