Paris: France has banned unsolicited telemarketing calls under a new law aimed at protecting consumers from intrusive sales pitches and shielding vulnerable people from fraudulent commercial practices. Authorities estimate that about three-quarters of people in France receive at least one unsolicited sales call every week, and many receive more. People can report unsolicited calls through a government website. The Netherlands tightened rules on telemarketing calls last month. The country had already banned unsolicited sales calls but now, companies are not allowed anymore to call their own customers with promotional offers without previous authorization.