France bans unsolicited telemarketing calls

France has banned unsolicited telemarketing phone calls, in what a consumer group is hailing as a "small revolution" for the sales industry.From Tuesday, unsolicited calls are prohibited for businesses in all sectors - but there are some exceptions.Calls will only be permitted if they relate to a contract a person has already entered into or the company has obtained prior consent to be contacted for marketing. "It cannot be stressed enough that peace and quiet is a right, and it is time to stop exposing consumers to unwanted solicitations," consumer advocacy group Que Choisir Ensemble, said in a statement."This observation also holds true online and on the street, which are saturated with demands to consume," group president Marie-Amandine Stévenin added.She said the group had long been advocating "for an end to the automatic assumption that someone in their home or private life is a potential customer.""This is a victory for consumers, the vast majority of whom do not want to receive sales calls," she said.But the law change has riled some business groups, and officials in Morocco, where the call centre sector is heavily reliant on the French market.