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Article

12 Jul 2021

Author:
CCFD-Terre Solidaire and Sherpa

France: Third edition of Duty of Vigilance Radar finds 44 companies have still failed to publish plan required under due diligence law

"Third edition of the Duty of Vigilance Radar – McDonald’s, Lactalis, Bigard, Adrexo, Leroy Merlin, Generali, Altrad, Euro Disney … 44 companies still breaking the law?", 7 July 2021

CCFD-Terre Solidaire and Sherpa publish today the third edition of the “Duty of Vigilance Radar”. According to the research conducted by the two organisations, at least 263 companies appear to be subject to the French law on the duty of vigilance, which aims to prevent and remedy human rights and environmental violations committed abroad by French companies. 

Our study has identified six companies that have been served with formal notices or summonses, as well as 44 companies that have still not published the vigilance plan required by the law.

Since March 27th, 2017, the law on the duty of vigilance establishes a legal obligation of vigilance for companies with more than 5,000 employees in France or more than 10,000 employees worldwide...

This law is based on two related obligations: an obligation to take adequate and effective vigilance measures, and an obligation of transparency, through the publication of a vigilance plan.

As demonstrated in the previous editions of the “Duty of Vigilance Radar” in 2019 and 2020, due to the lack of monitoring of this law and the opacity from which some companies fully benefit, it is impossible for citizens to identify exhaustively the companies subject to this obligation...

This 2021 edition of the duty of vigilance radar reveals that:

  • At least 263 companies are subject to the law on the duty of vigilance
  • 6 companies have been summoned to court or have received formal notices from organisations and/or unions
  • 44 companies have still not published a vigilance plan, despite reminders sent by CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Sherpa, and Amnesty International France over the last months. Among these companies, McDonald’s, Lactalis, Bigard, Adrexo, Leroy Merlin, Generali, Altrad, Euro Disney. In their report, the organisations publish the justifications put forward by some of those companies to justify the absence of such a plan.

As the duty of vigilance is in the process of being extended at the European level, these pitfalls in the application of French legislation (excessively high thresholds, lack of access to information, etc.) must be corrected. Especially, the new European legislation should facilitate legal action against companies that fail to meet their obligations...

A summary of the different cases that have been introduced under the Law on the duty of vigilance is now available on the vigilance-plan.org website.

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