Human Rights Insights

Yves Rocher found liable under the French Duty of Vigilance Law over retaliation against unionised workers in Turkey

On 12 March 2026, the Paris civil court found the French beauty brand Yves Rocher liable for failing in its duty of vigilance regarding its activities in Turkey, specifically anti-unionisation practices. Following a membership campaign launched in January 2018 by the Petrol-Is trade union among the workers of Yves Rocher’s Turkish subsidiary, which led to the recognition of the union representativeness within the subsidiary (157 workers out of 379), in May 2018, a major wave of dismissals was carried out, with 132 employees fired; a retaliation against unionised workers.

In this unprecedent ruling, the court confirmed that the Duty of Vigilance Law applies to the activities of French companies’ subsidiaries operating abroad and ordered the company to compensate some employees. However, due to a restrictive interpretation of an agreement reached between the Turkish subsidiary and employees by the court, most plaintiffs’ claim for compensation was considered inadmissible, highly limiting Yves Rocher’s accountability and access to remedy for claimants.

French Duty of Vigilance Law and the formal notice requirement – 2024 clarifications

Since the adoption of the 2017 Duty of vigilance law, claimants have faced multiple procedural obstacles leading to the dismissal of their cases. In particular, judges have misinterpreted the obligation for claimants to give formal notice to companies prior to filing a complaint, using a flawed interpretation of the legislator’s intention to establish dialogue between companies and their stakeholders. Such misapplication of the law was rightfully overruled by the Paris court of appeal in two key rulings (here and here) on June 18, 2024.

Alien Tort Statute and Cisco case: Court of Appeal allows proceedings to continue

On July 7, 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that proceedings against Cisco System under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) can proceed. In this decade long trial, practitioners of Falun Gong – a Chinese religious movement – alleged that they or family members were victims of human rights abuses including torture, arbitrary detention, forced labour, extrajudicial killing and forced disappearance committed by the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government officials. According to the claimants, the alleged abuses were enabled by technological assistance of Cisco System, a US company which designed, implemented and helped to maintain a surveillance and internal security network (the Golden Shield system) for Chinese officials, greatly enhancing their capacity to identify Falun Gong practitioners and persecute them. In 2011, claimants sued Cisco for aiding and abetting Chinese officials in violation of the ATS.

Why companies should not overlook the risk of child labour in their US supply chains

When the topic of child labour is raised, it is very often confined to cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire or mineral extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While child labour is undeniably more present in specific industries and countries, it should not be automatically excluded from human rights risk analysis as soon as operations and value chains are located in Western countries, let alone in the United States (US). Contrary to what some (European) managers may think, child labour does exist in the United States and is far from being limited to one or two small companies. As the former Secretary of Labour Marty Walsh said, child labour in the United States “is not a 19^th century problem, this is a today problem”.

Corporate accountability under the French Duty of vigilance law, just an illusion?

On June 1, 2023, Paris civil court dismissed NGOs’ claim brough on the ground of the Duty of vigilance law against Suez regarding its activities in Chile. Once again, the judge considered that claimants did not give proper formal notice. The rationale used and its outcome raises the question of effective corporate accountability five years after the adoption of the law and at the time of EU negotiations on a Directive on human rights and environmental due diligence.

2023 OECD Guidelines for Multinationals update

On June 8, 2023, the OECD released the update of the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Guidelines), reviewing the 2011 version to respond to urgent social, environmental and technological priorities facing societies and businesses. Key updates include recommendations for companies to align with internationally agreed goals on climate change and biodiversity, expanded due diligence recommendations to all forms of corruption and recommendations on disclosure of responsible business conduct information.

Comparison between proposals on human rights due diligence Directive, including Parliament amendments

On June 1, 2023, the European Parliament adopted amendments to the European Commission’s Directive on human rights and environmental due diligence proposal submitted in February 2022. These amendments strengthen the alignment of the Directive with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Comparison between EU Council and Commission proposals on human rights due diligence Directive

For updates on the Parliament’s amendments (June 2023) to the Commission’s proposal.

On November 30, 2022, the European Council released its proposal for a Directive on human rights and environmental due diligence based on the proposal submitted in February by the European Commission. While providing clarifications on important elements such as prioritisation of impacts, the Council’s draft misses the opportunity to set ambitious due diligence as it removes several key aspects such as directors’ duty of care.

EU proposal on products made of forced labour

On September 14, 2022, the European Commission released the proposal for a Regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market. The initiative was first announced last year by President von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech on September 15, 2021. This Regulation does not target a specific sector or region.

EU proposal to protect journalists and human rights defenders against abusive lawsuits

On April 27, 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive on protection against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). SLAPPs are court proceedings initiated against persons who engage in public participation on matter of public interest to deter them by intimidating them and draining their resources. Such lawsuits are often initiated by powerful entities such as lobby groups, corporations, and state organs, and they often involve an imbalance of power – financial or political – between the claimant and the defendant. SLAPPs are typically disguised as civil or criminal claims such as defamation and constitute a threat to the right to freedom of expression and information.