An undetermined fall at the airport: a case of strict liability of a French travel agent Carlos Torres1 I. Introduction. – II. Case background and procedural history. – III. The strict liability of travel agencies (responsabilité de plein droit). – IV. Exonerating circumstances and burden of proof. – V. EU Legislative Competence in Private Law. – VI. Compatibility of responsabilité de plein droit with the New Package Travel Directive. – VII. Initial considerations on the liability of travel. agents. 8.1 The evolution since the seventies. 8.2 Vicarious liability. 8.3 Brief overview of French case law on strict liability. – IX. Final remarks. The text explores the concept of strict liability (“responsabilité de plein droit”) as applied to French travel agencies, particularly within the context of package. It begins by detailing a specific 2025 Versailles Court of Appeal decision where a travel agency was held fully liable for a client’s airport fall, emphasizing that the victim doesn’t need to prove fault. The text then examines the limited circumstances under which an agency can be exonerated, such as the client’s fault or force majeure, and discusses the compatibility of this strict liability with Package Travel Directive. Finally, it traces the historical evolution of French legal thought on travel agency liability, from early debates on contractual responsibility to the firm establishment of strict liability for services provided by the agency itself or its partners. Keywords: responsabilité de plein droit, strict liability, French Tourism Code, Package Travel Directive, airport. I. INTRODUCTION The Versailles Court of Appeal delivered a decision on March 27, 2025, regarding a personal injury claim stemming from an accident that occurred at the airport on the day of a return trip from a golf package tour. The court 1 DOI 10.60559/ijtthl2025-015 Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies (ESHTE).
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