Sorry if this has been answered before, I'm sure it has really but can't find it
It's nothing special, an arrosage timer thingy, about 30€ which has gone wrong. Anyway the shop says its the manufacturer to fix it (replace it surely), and, quelle surprise!, vice versa, the manufaturer says it's the shop.
So who is it who has to honour the guarantee?
Sadly the good old Sale of Goods act doesn't apply, more's the pity.
As an aside, I think the reason why customer service is often better in UK is because of self same act, as well as the obligation of credit card companies to refund you if the shop won't (and actually the card company just deduct it from the shop anyway). So it's definitely in the shop's short term interest to do the right thing.
The Useful Links page has a section on consumer organisations and suchlike including this link http://www.e-litige.com/fiches/achats/sav.php to a site that summarizes French law on warranties.
I'm sure I remember reading that if goods are obviously faulty, (throughout the EU), the vendor is obliged to refund immediately, even if they prefer to offer another item or a credit note. You have the right to ask for a refund in full, paid in the same manner as that which you paid for the item.
I argued with Leclerc recently over a return of xmas lights, and they gave in and refunded my money on hearing the phrase 'loi european"
For expensive stuff, even up to a second hand car, or I suppose a new car, pay at least £100 (note 100 POUNDS) as a deposit (or indeed the whole amount) using a UKCREDIT (not debit) card and you get the full UK consumer credit act on your side, so if it turns out to be faulty and the supplier is being unreasonable you can get the uk card company to fork out the full cost of putting it right, or even cancelling the purchase altogether.
It hardly seems fair to the card company (oh joy, being cruel to a bank). If the whole transaction were to take place in the UK the card company can usually deduct it from the next weeks' payments to the supplier, (which is why suppliers in the UK are so much more willing to solve problems, because they might lose the whole amount of the sale, rather than the amount needed to fix or replace the item), but I suspect it might not be so easy for a UK bank to recaim on a French supplier. tant pis indeed.
Double check the wheres and hows etc on moneysavingexpert
Although you have the law on your side you will still end up with a less than ideal result. You may have to wait several weeks before you hear anything after handing it over to the shop for return. Hopefully this will not be too big an issue in your case. When people get the same runaround with a washing machine or similar you can understand how unsatsfactory the system is. Good luck.