A standard is a set of rules defined collaboratively—by companies, experts, and consumers—to ensure that a product, service, or practice is safe, reliable, and compatible with the rest. It is not a law imposed from above: it is a set of rules established collectively, voluntarily... and, above all, useful!

Only 1% of the standards published by AFNOR have been made mandatory by law. All other standards are voluntary: no one is required to comply with them. But if a manufacturer chooses to comply, it commits to meeting specific criteria and demonstrating compliance. That is what gives the process its value.

Laws are enacted by the government and apply to everyone, without exception. Standards are developed by stakeholders in a given sector and remain voluntary. But the two can overlap: a law can make a standard mandatory, as is the case with the requirement to have a smoke detector that complies with the standard in all homes in France since 2015.

Everyone—or almost everyone. Standards are developed in committees that bring together manufacturers, consumers, experts, associations, and government agencies. Everyone can represent their own interests in these committees. The final text is the result of a consensus: it can only be adopted if no one formally objects to it.

There are French (NF), European (EN), and international (ISO) standards. When an ISO standard exists, it applies from Tokyo to São Paulo with the same criteria. This is what allows the ski boots you buy in France to clip into bindings manufactured in Austria.

No. A standard is voluntary. A manufacturer is entirely free to choose not to comply with it; that does not mean its product is dangerous. However, it does mean that the manufacturer uses its own testing methods. Choosing to follow a standard means choosing to play by proven and verifiable rules defined by the market. Not doing so is like playing without a safety net.

A manufacturer can declare on its own that its product complies with a standard: this is known as self-declaration. The manufacturer then displays the name of the standard on its packaging. The “CE” marking, on the other hand, is mandatory for any product sold in Europe: it certifies compliance with European regulatory requirements. But the strongest guarantee remains certification issued by an independent body, such as NF certification, which verifies through regular inspections that the product truly lives up to its promises.

This legitimate criticism is actually directed at regulation—specifically, the layer-by-layer accumulation of imposed requirements—not at voluntary standards, which are regularly revised and eliminated when they are no longer useful. Confusion is common.