A British resident in France who suddenly loses electricity faces two different problems at once: an immediate practical emergency and a legal dispute about who caused it, whether the procedure was lawful, and what loss can be recovered. A dark meter does not automatically prove that the electricity supplier acted unlawfully. It may be a local network failure, a technical meter issue, a landlord problem, a power reduction, or a full interruption ordered after an unpaid bill.

The first task is therefore to identify the event and preserve evidence. The second is to send a precise written demand for restoration, correction of the account, or compensation. Brexit does not place a French home outside French consumer and contract law. A British national with a French supply contract is normally dealing with a French fournisseur d’électricité (electricity supplier), while Enedis is usually the gestionnaire de réseau de distribution (distribution network operator). The responsible party may be one, the other, or both depending on the facts.

The official Service Public guidance on unpaid utility bills and the UK government’s living in France guidance are useful starting points, but neither replaces a case-specific review. This article explains the French protection for a principal home, the notice sequence, the evidence a British resident should assemble, the mediator route, urgent référé proceedings, and the way a compensation claim can be proved.

I. What does a French electricity cut mean for a British resident after Brexit?

A. Has the supplier cut your supply, or is it a network fault?

The words “electricity cut” cover several legally different situations. Before arguing about compensation, record which one has occurred. A complete loss of power throughout the property, a meter displaying a supply-limitation message, and a circuit breaker that trips when two appliances operate at the same time are not interchangeable facts. The remedy and the defendant may change with that distinction.

Start with the simplest comparison. Are the neighbours also without electricity? Is the street lighting out? Does the electricity meter display an error, a limited-power message, or no display at all? If the problem is confined to one house, check the consumer unit without opening any sealed equipment and record the meter display with photographs or a short video. If the whole area is affected, contact the network emergency number shown on the latest bill and obtain a reference number. A network outage is not automatically an unlawful supplier termination. It may instead raise a service-quality or network-liability issue.

The contractual map matters. The fournisseur d’électricité invoices the customer and receives payment. The distribution network operator normally manages the local network, the connection, the meter intervention, and many technical operations. A supplier can ask the network operator to reduce or interrupt supply in a regulated unpaid-bill process, but the supplier remains the central contact for the invoice, the notices, the payment allocation, and the contractual explanation. A technical fault, a meter reading error, or damage to an appliance may require a separate complaint to the network operator. Do not send the same general accusation to every company without identifying what each company actually did.

Keep the following first-day record:

• the exact date and time the power disappeared or became limited;
• the property address and the *point de livraison* (delivery point, usually called the PDL) shown on the bill;
• the meter number, displayed message, current index, and photographs of the installation;
• whether the heating, hot water, refrigerator, medical equipment, alarm, internet connection, or electric gate was affected;
• the names and reference numbers of every telephone call, online chat, email, and emergency report;
• the bill, the alleged arrears, payment confirmations, bank statements, and any energy voucher allocation;
• receipts for food, accommodation, transport, repairs, replacement equipment, or other emergency expenditure.

The legal position is also different where electricity is included in rent or service charges. A British tenant may think that the supplier has cut the supply when the actual contracting party is the landlord or property manager. Conversely, a landlord cannot necessarily justify a private disconnection by referring to the tenant’s alleged arrears. Identify the name on the supply contract, the person who receives the invoice, and the contractual basis on which electricity is provided. Notify the landlord and the supplier in writing if the property arrangement is mixed.

Brexit does not change this factual exercise. The relevant questions are where the property is located, who signed the French supply contract, whether the home is a principal residence, and what the supplier actually did. A British passport, a Withdrawal Agreement residence card, a long-stay visa, or a French tax number may help prove the customer’s identity and residence, but none of those documents turns a French supply dispute into a UK consumer claim. Conversely, the absence of a French bank account or the use of a UK account does not remove the protections attached to a French residential contract.

The contractual starting point is article 1103 of the French Civil Code. It states: “Les contrats légalement formés tiennent lieu de loi à ceux qui les ont faits.” In English, a lawfully formed contract binds the parties as their law. The official article 1103 text must be read with the actual terms and the mandatory consumer rules. Article 1104 adds that contracts must be performed in good faith: “Les contrats doivent être négociés, formés et exécutés de bonne foi.” The official article 1104 text is important where a supplier continues to rely on a payment error, refuses to correct an account, or fails to restore the agreed power after payment.

A further distinction concerns the home itself. French legislation gives a particularly important protection to a résidence principale (principal residence). A British owner who uses a French property only for holidays, while living mainly in the UK, should not assume that every principal-home protection applies to that second home. The invoice may still be challengeable, the contract may still require proper notice, and a wrongful interruption may still create a claim, but the winter rule described below is expressly tied to a principal residence. Establish residence with documents rather than with a general statement: a lease, council or local registration evidence where available, household bills, tax documents, insurance, school records, or other consistent proof may be relevant.

Finally, separate a supplier’s enforcement decision from a physical defect. If a local engineer, an electrician, a fire, a flood, or a damaged cable caused the event, the unpaid-bill rules may not answer the dispute. Do not pay an alleged arrears merely to create a record without considering the consequences, but do not leave an undisputed amount unpaid while arguing about a separate error. A written reservation, a request for an itemised account, and a prompt payment of the undisputed part can make the factual position clearer.

B. When can a French supplier reduce power or disconnect a principal home?

The main protection is article L.115-3 of the French Code of Social Action and Families. Its current official text is available on Légifrance. It deals with energy hardship, unpaid bills, the winter period, and the procedural steps before a residential interruption. The rule is not a general licence to stop every disputed invoice. It creates a framework that the supplier must follow.

For a principal residence, the winter protection period runs from the date described in the statute as “Du 1er novembre de chaque année au 31 mars de l’année suivante”. During that period, a supplier may not normally carry out a full interruption for non-payment, including by terminating the contract. The statute says that suppliers “ne peuvent procéder, dans une résidence principale, à l’interruption” of electricity, heat, or gas for unpaid bills. Electricity power reduction remains a separate possibility, subject to the statutory exception for protected consumers under article L.124-1 of the Energy Code. A winter protection from full disconnection is therefore not the same as a guarantee of unlimited power.

Outside the winter period, the statute still regulates the route to a full interruption in a principal residence. The supplier cannot move straight from a disputed bill to a complete cut without the required prior reduction period. Article L.115-3 provides that an interruption for non-payment can occur only after a power-reduction period of at least one month, during which the household can meet fundamental daily-living and hygiene needs. This is a substantive legal safeguard, not merely a customer-service preference. The dates of the reduction, the date of the alleged default, and the date of any full interruption should therefore be compared carefully.

The supplier must also take account of the social-support mechanism. Article L.115-3 provides that energy supply can be maintained until a request for assistance has been decided. A household facing genuine financial difficulty should ask promptly about the fonds de solidarité pour le logement (housing solidarity fund, commonly called FSL), the chèque énergie (means-tested energy voucher), and help through the local social services or centre communal d’action sociale (municipal social action centre, CCAS). Ask the supplier to record the request and send the supporting documents. A vague telephone statement that a British customer is “waiting for help” is less useful than a dated written request with the bill, household composition, income evidence, and the reference of the assistance application.

The notice sequence is supplemented by article 1 of decree no. 2008-780 of 13 August 2008. The verified text refers to a “délai de 14 jours” after the invoice date or payment deadline, followed by a “délai supplémentaire de 15 jours” if the bill remains unpaid. The supplier’s letter must explain the possible consequence and the time available before reduction or interruption. Other rules and later protective measures may apply to particular households, meter types, social-benefit status, or changes in the law. The safe approach is to compare every letter with the current statutory text and the customer’s exact status rather than assuming that one historic letter is enough.

The difference between a reduction and a complete interruption has practical importance. A reduced-power meter may still operate a refrigerator or limited lighting while refusing to run heating and several appliances together. That can be lawful in some unpaid-bill situations, especially outside the winter period, but the supplier must still have followed the legal and contractual procedure. A complete interruption is more serious. If it occurred during the protected period, before the required reduction period, despite a recorded assistance application, or after the underlying debt had been paid, the restoration demand becomes materially stronger.

Dispute the amount separately from the supply procedure. Article L.224-11 of the Consumer Code requires annual billing and states: “Aucune consommation d’électricité ou de gaz naturel antérieure de plus de quatorze mois au dernier relevé ou autorelevé ne peut être facturée”. The full official article L.224-11 text also contains exceptions, including lack of access to the meter, failure to send a real index after a registered letter, and fraud. A British resident who receives a large catch-up bill should not simply assert that every old amount is void. Check the last actual reading, access history, estimated readings, meter exchange, alleged fraud, and the supplier’s correction calculation.

The court’s application of this rule is illustrated by the Court of Appeal of Nîmes, RG no. 24/03167, decision of 19 March 2026. In the verified decision, a bill covered a period of 28 months, and the court applied the fourteen-month rule before considering the supplier’s corrected account. The case shows why the customer should request the meter history and the correction calculation. It does not mean that any old invoice disappears automatically, because the statutory exceptions and the evidence of access or fraud still matter.

The contractual consequences of a failure are set out in article 1217 of the Civil Code. The official article 1217 text lists several possible sanctions and expressly includes the right to “demander réparation des conséquences de l’inexécution”. Article 1231-1 adds that a debtor may be ordered to pay damages for non-performance or delay, unless force majeure prevented performance; see the official article 1231-1 text. These provisions do not establish an automatic fixed payment for every outage. They provide the legal route for a properly proved breach and loss.

For a British resident, the key protection questions can therefore be reduced to a short chronology:

• Was the property the customer’s principal residence when the event occurred?
• Was the event a full interruption, a power reduction, or a technical network failure?
• Was there an unpaid bill, and was the amount genuinely due?
• Did the supplier send the required notices and respect the reduction period?
• Was the household seeking FSL, energy-voucher, or other social assistance?
• Had the customer paid, or challenged, the relevant amount before the cut?
• What loss followed, and can each item be connected to the interruption?

If the answers reveal an unlawful sequence, use them in that order. A long narrative about Brexit is less persuasive than a short table showing the invoice date, first notice, second notice, reduction date, payment date, interruption date, assistance request, and restoration request.

II. How can you restore electricity and claim compensation in France?

A. What evidence and formal notice should you send immediately?

The first written document should seek a practical result before it seeks a large sum. Ask for restoration of supply or restoration of the contractual power, correction of the account, confirmation of the legal basis for the action, and preservation of the relevant records. Use the term mise en demeure (formal notice) in the subject line or first paragraph so that the supplier understands that the letter is intended to have legal significance. The letter can be in English if necessary, but a concise French summary of the request, the contract number, and the PDL will reduce the risk of an avoidable misunderstanding. Keep the English version, the French version, and proof of dispatch.

Send the letter by registered post with acknowledgment of receipt, usually called lettre recommandée avec demande d’avis de réception or LRAR, and also through the supplier’s online complaint portal and email address. Attach a PDF bundle with numbered pages. A useful bundle contains:

• the supply contract and the latest terms and conditions;
• the invoice or notice said to justify the action;
• bank proof of each payment, including the payment reference and value date;
• the chèque énergie allocation or FSL request, if relevant;
• meter photographs, the PDL, the meter index, and the displayed error or power limitation;
• proof that the home is a principal residence if the winter or one-month protection is relied upon;
• the call log, complaint reference, technical report, and any message from Enedis or the supplier;
• receipts and photographs supporting food loss, temporary accommodation, equipment damage, or other direct costs.

State the relief in a sequence that a customer-service department can execute. First, demand restoration by a stated deadline and request written confirmation of the operation. Secondly, require the supplier to cancel or suspend the disputed arrears while it investigates. Thirdly, request an itemised statement identifying each invoice, reading, payment allocation, fee, and date. Fourthly, reserve the right to claim the losses already incurred and any further losses caused by delay. If the supply is needed for medical equipment, explain the equipment, the risk, and the medical evidence without disclosing more health information than necessary.

Do not let an English-language problem hide a payment problem. Ask the supplier to confirm whether the account is marked as unpaid because of a bank rejection, a wrongly allocated payment, a change of bank details, a duplicate customer account, or an index dispute. British customers often pay from UK accounts or move between French and UK banks. The currency and transfer reference should be shown. If a payment was made to a wrong account or applied to another property, obtain the bank confirmation and ask for the supplier’s internal allocation record.

The PDL should be used consistently in every communication. A name or address alone may be insufficient where a former owner, tenant, or second meter is involved. Ask the supplier to confirm the PDL, meter serial number, contract start date, subscribed power, and the identity of the party that requested any reduction or cut. Ask Enedis for the technical date and operation reference where the event appears to be a network action. This prevents the supplier from answering a different question about a different meter.

If the supplier says that the cut resulted from non-payment, ask for the full notice sequence rather than a screenshot of the current balance. Request:

• the date and content of the first payment warning;
• the date and content of the additional notice;
• the date on which power was reduced and the power level selected;
• the date on which a full interruption was requested or carried out;
• the evidence that the home was treated as a principal or secondary residence;
• the evidence that any assistance application was considered;
• the supplier’s calculation of the amount claimed and the basis for any fees.

Where the customer has paid the amount relied upon by the supplier, say so in the first sentence and attach the proof. Request restoration of the original power, not merely permission to use a lower emergency level. The Court of Appeal of Versailles, RG no. 24/06998, judgment of 6 January 2026 is a useful warning. The court found that, after the customers had paid the arrears, the supplier “était tenue de procéder immédiatement et spontanément au rétablissement de la puissance initiale du compteur”. The couple had remained at reduced power for 79 days during winter and received €1,500 for loss of enjoyment. The decision does not promise the same amount in every case; it shows the importance of the payment date, the original subscribed power, the duration, the heating needs, and the evidence of actual inconvenience.

If the supplier insists that the amount is disputed, pay only after considering the legal and commercial effect of payment, and write that payment is made under reservation if that reflects the intended position. A payment may restore the supply while the customer continues to challenge an overcharge, but the wording and surrounding conduct matter. A lawyer should review any settlement, waiver, or statement that the account is fully accepted.

The 14-month billing rule should be raised in the same letter if the invoice contains historic estimated consumption. Quote the official rule, identify the last actual index, and show the period that exceeds fourteen months. Ask for a corrected invoice rather than simply refusing every bill. If the supplier relies on an exception, request the registered letter, access record, fraud evidence, or other document supporting it. The Nîmes decision cited above demonstrates how the actual billing period and a later correction can become central evidence.

At the same time, limit the damage. Move food to a safe location if possible, arrange temporary heating only where safe, protect vulnerable occupants, and keep receipts. Do not reconnect the supply by tampering with a sealed meter or bypassing a safety device. That can create a dangerous situation, weaken the compensation claim, and expose the customer to a separate allegation of damage or fraud. If the home is uninhabitable, record the condition, notify the insurer and landlord where relevant, and obtain written evidence of any temporary accommodation.

The customer’s proof is governed by article 1353 of the Civil Code. It states: “Celui qui réclame l’exécution d’une obligation doit la prouver.” The official article 1353 text also says that the person claiming to be released must prove payment or the event that extinguished the obligation. In practical terms, the supplier must explain the basis for its enforcement, while the customer should prove the contract, payment, residence, notices received, event, and loss. A well-indexed evidence bundle is often more valuable than a long emotional account.

B. Can you use the mediator, référé proceedings and a damages claim?

The ordinary complaint route should be used quickly but should not be mistaken for an emergency court order. Send a formal written complaint to the supplier’s customer service, then escalate to its complaints department if the first response does not resolve the matter. The energy sector also has the médiateur national de l’énergie (National Energy Ombudsman), which can examine disputes involving a supplier or network operator after the required written complaint route. Article L.612-1 of the Consumer Code confirms that “Tout consommateur a le droit de recourir gratuitement à un médiateur de la consommation”. The official article L.612-1 text sets out the general statutory right to free consumer mediation.

Mediation is useful for a wrongly allocated payment, a meter-reading dispute, a failure to apply an energy voucher, a refusal to correct an account, or a compensation proposal that the supplier has ignored. Prepare the mediator file as if it were a court bundle: contract, invoices, notices, payment proof, meter records, complaint chronology, restoration request, and loss schedule. State the result sought in euros and in practical terms. “I want justice” is weaker than “restore the subscribed 6 kVA power, cancel invoice X to the extent exceeding the lawful period, reimburse €Y supported by receipts, and pay €Z for documented loss of enjoyment.”

Mediation may be too slow where a household is currently without electricity, heating, refrigeration, or a medical device. In that situation, ask a French lawyer whether référé proceedings are appropriate. Référé means urgent interim proceedings before the competent court. Article 834 of the Code of Civil Procedure allows the president of the judicial court, or the protection litigation judge within the limits of that judge’s jurisdiction, to order urgent measures where the request is not seriously contested or a dispute justifies the intervention. The official text includes the phrase “Dans tous les cas d’urgence”; see article 834 on Légifrance.

Article 835 provides a separate route where a serious dispute exists but an urgent protective or restorative measure is still required. The judge may order a measure to prevent imminent harm or “faire cesser un trouble manifestement illicite”. The official article 835 text should be read with the facts and the court’s jurisdiction. The application should identify the supplier, the network operator if involved, the PDL, the present state of the supply, the procedural defect, the urgency, and the exact order sought. It may request restoration under a daily penalty, sometimes called an astreinte, but the court decides whether the evidence supports that relief.

Recent decisions show why a focused application matters. In the Court of Appeal of Paris, RG no. 24/10680, decision of 25 September 2025, the customer was in fact up to date, but an energy voucher had been allocated to another customer account. The court found that the interruption and termination “ont revêtu un caractère infondé” and examined compensation for the consequences of the supplier’s error. The case is especially relevant to a British resident who pays through unfamiliar French banking channels or whose supplier has created a duplicate account: prove the payment allocation and the administrative mistake.

The Court of Appeal of Versailles, RG no. 24/06998 illustrates a different result. The initial power reduction was not treated as wrongful on the evidence available to the court because the customers had not paid the invoices for a period. The wrongful element arose after they paid and the original power was not restored. That distinction matters. A customer can lose credibility by claiming that every reduction is unlawful when the record shows a genuine arrears process, but can have a strong claim for the supplier’s failure to restore after payment.

The Court of Appeal of Paris, RG no. 23/15691, decision of 2 November 2023 reproduced the statutory rule that “Les fournisseurs d’électricité peuvent néanmoins procéder à une réduction de puissance”. The dispute concerned district heating and a co-ownership rather than the same facts as an individual household, so it should not be treated as a direct ruling on every British consumer’s electricity account. It is nevertheless a useful caution: winter protection against a full interruption does not always mean that the supplier must maintain the original power level.

For a damages claim, build a schedule with four columns: the event, the evidence, the legal link, and the amount. Direct material loss may include spoiled food, emergency accommodation, reasonable transport, or the cost of repairing an appliance where an expert can connect the damage to the event. Loss of enjoyment may reflect the duration, the absence of heating, the size of the household, and the inability to use ordinary appliances. A moral or distress claim requires a factual explanation, not merely the label “stress”. Medical vulnerability, a child or elderly occupant, a long period without heating, or repeated unsuccessful complaints may matter, but the court assesses the proof.

Do not overstate equipment damage. A reduced power level does not automatically damage an appliance; a surge, incorrect reconnection, wiring fault, or network event may be the real cause. Obtain a technician’s written report, preserve the appliance and photographs, and notify the home insurer. The court may reject a material-loss head where there is no technical proof even while awarding loss of enjoyment. This is exactly why receipts and expert evidence should be collected at the time, not invented after a claim is filed.

The claim should also address causation and mitigation. If the customer waited weeks before sending a written complaint, the supplier may argue that some additional loss could have been avoided. Explain each contact, the response received, and why restoration did not occur. If the customer accepted alternative accommodation, explain why it was reasonable and keep the invoice. If the customer declined a proposed payment plan or failed to provide a meter reading, address that openly. Credibility is part of the evidence.

Article 1217 permits several contractual responses, but they cannot all be claimed without regard to compatibility or proof. The remedy may involve restoration, correction of the price, termination in an appropriate case, reimbursement, and damages. Article 1231-1 is not a penalty table. It requires a link between non-performance or delay and proven loss, subject to the force-majeure defence. The supplier may argue that a genuine network failure, unsafe installation, third-party act, or unavoidable event interrupted supply. That argument must be tested against the meter logs, network references, weather or incident records, and the supplier’s own notices.

The right defendant should be named. If the supplier incorrectly allocated a payment or triggered an unpaid-bill interruption, the contractual claim will normally focus on the supplier. If a network operator caused a technical outage or mishandled a meter operation, the claim may require a different analysis. If a landlord retained responsibility for utilities, include the lease and the landlord’s conduct. Naming every company without separating the allegations can delay an urgent application and make the case appear unfocused.

A British resident should also preserve the cross-border context without making it the centre of the claim. Keep proof of identity, French address, visa or residence status where relevant, bank transfers from the UK, and any correspondence in English. Ask for an interpreter or translated document when a formal hearing or technical inspection requires one. The legal question remains the French supply event, but a clear explanation of how UK payment and residence documents connect to the French account can prevent an administrative misunderstanding.

Conclusion

An electricity cut in France after Brexit is best handled as a dated evidence problem. Establish whether the event is a network outage, a power reduction, or a complete interruption. Prove the PDL, the home’s status as a principal residence where relevant, the invoice and payment history, the notices, the assistance request, and the exact loss. Then send a formal written demand for restoration and an itemised explanation. A British resident should use French terms such as fournisseur d’électricité, mise en demeure, réduction de puissance, trêve hivernale, and référé precisely, but the nationality of the customer does not remove the ordinary French contractual and consumer protections.

The strongest cases are usually specific: the supplier applied a payment to the wrong account, bypassed the required notice or reduction period, interrupted a principal residence during the protected period, failed to restore the original power after payment, or continued to bill consumption outside the lawful period. Mediation can resolve a well-documented complaint, while urgent proceedings may be necessary when a household remains without essential power. Compensation is possible, but it must be tied to a proven breach, a proven loss, and a clear causal chronology.

Need a quick opinion on your case

If your electricity has been cut or your meter has been placed on reduced power in France, a telephone consultation within 48 hours with a lawyer from the firm can help identify the correct defendant, the urgent restoration route, and the evidence needed for compensation.

To discuss your situation with Maître Reda Kohen’s office, call +33 6 46 60 58 22 or use the contact form. Have your latest bill, payment proof, meter reference, supplier notices, and photographs ready.