HASfter many twists and turns, the directive on the “duty of vigilance” of companies was adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday April 24: firms with more than five thousand employees or a turnover greater than 1.5 billion euros will be considered, from 2027, as responsible for respecting the environment and social rights among all of their regular subcontractors, followed, from 2029, by those with more than a thousand employees.
This directive constitutes an extension of the French law of March 27, 2017 (law no. 2017-399). Apart from Germany, no other country in the European Union (EU) has until now had a similar legal framework. This could a priori give a head start to large French companies already engaged in this vigilance process, and who appreciate that their European competitors are now subject to similar obligations. But the matter is more complex.
The French government, which was proud that France was a pioneer on the issue, actually campaigned to reduce the scope of this directive. These reluctances can be explained by its more restrictive aspect than French law, contrary to what has often been said. The implementing decrees which were to specify the conditions for implementing the French law have in fact never been published, despite several reports calling for clarifications.
Shake up large French companies
The list of companies concerned had also not been posted. Even more serious, no sanctions had been provided for in the event of non-compliance with reporting obligations. A sanction proposed by the courts had even been rejected by the Constitutional Council… due to inaccuracies in the law!
In fact, seven years after the passing of this law, certain large French companies, such as the construction group Altrad, the Bigard industrial butchers or McDonald’s France, have still not published the reports provided for by the legislator to explain how they implemented action their duty of vigilance, with risk mapping, the identification of their problematic suppliers and the measures planned to improve the situation.
The competent judicial authority has just been designated. Only one trial to date has resulted in a verdict. Suffice it to say that case law does not yet make it possible to specify the framework and scope of legal obligations. The new European directive will therefore shake up certain large French companies.
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