In a recent decision dated June 11, 2026, the second civil chamber of the Court of Cassation introduced a new exception to the principle of concentrating objections and incidental requests. This principle typically requires debtors to raise certain legal objections during an early stage of a court process, or they risk losing the right to do so later. The ruling now allows debtors to challenge the abusive nature of an early enforceability clause for the first time during an appeal, which was previously not permitted. This change applies to clauses that allow creditors to enforce a debt before the full legal process is completed, often found in consumer contracts. Under the previous rules, article R311-5 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures required debtors to raise such objections by the orientation hearing, a preliminary stage in the legal process. If they failed to do so, their objections would be considered inadmissible in later stages. The new ruling removes this procedural barrier, allowing debtors to bring up the issue of an abusive clause during the appeal phase. The ruling also outlines specific conditions for creditors. If a debtor raises the abusive nature of a clause for the first time in an appeal, the creditor may still request to adjust the claim based on the clause not being in writing. However, this exception does not apply if the debtor had already raised the issue before the orientation hearing and the creditor did not respond. In such cases, the creditor’s request to adjust the claim would be deemed inadmissible. The Court of Cassation highlighted that national courts must examine the abusive nature of a contractual clause on their own initiative if they have the legal and factual basis to do so. If a clause is found to be abusive, it should not be applied unless the consumer explicitly agrees to it. This aligns with European Union legal standards, including a 2009 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJCE) in case C-243/08 (Pannon), which emphasized the protection of consumers from unfair contract terms.