"NOVA BHRE Interview on the EDF Case", 28 October 2026

This interview examines the legal and practical implications of the case brought by the Unión Hidalgo community against French multinational EDF concerning its Gunaa Sicarú wind farm project in Mexico.

It brings together Céline da Graça Pires, a French-trained lawyer and independent business and human rights expert specialising in corporate human rights due diligence, community engagement and conflict mediation involving affected communities, and author of the UN Global Compact Network France Practical Guide Businesses–Affected Communities; and Cannelle Lavite, a human rights lawyer specializing in business and human rights strategic litigation, former co-director of the Business and Human Rights Program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).

Drawing on their complementary professional perspectives, the interview revisits the key legal and practical questions raised by the case, with Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) at its heart. It also explores the implications for corporate human rights due diligence under France’s Duty of Vigilance Law, including its extraterritorial application and the responsibilities of companies operating abroad.

For a more in-depth exploration of FPIC and its implications for corporate human rights due diligence, see Céline da Graça Pires’ Special Issue on the EDF-Unión Hidalgo case, published in The Business & Communities Nexus Newsletter.