LexBlog France › Norton Rose Fulbright

• LexBlog France

On 7 May, the French Prime Minister announced the date chosen for the start of the “de-confinement” phase for France, namely 11 May 2020. The lockdown, which started on 17 March, lasted almost 2 months during which some shops and businesses were closed, and the vast majority of companies operated on the basis of remote...

• LexBlog France

Le 7 mai dernier, le Premier Ministre a annoncé la date retenue pour le début de la phase de déconfinement des Français dans le cadre du plan de lutte contre le Covid-19, à savoir le 11 mai 2020. Le confinement, qui a commencé  le 17 mars dernier, aura duré près de 2 mois durant lesquels...

• LexBlog France

A few weeks ago, we provided you with a summary of the rights and obligations of employers with regard to the personal data of their employees during lockdown. On 11 May, many employees will return to their workplaces. Below you will find answers to the main questions you may have ahead as the end of...

• LexBlog France

On 14 April 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) updated its web page concerning the measures taken by macro-prudential authorities in euro area countries since 11 March 2020. Key points in the updated web page include: Countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) – Among the seven euro area countries with positive rates, authorities in France, Ireland and...

• LexBlog France

The first COVID-19 cases appeared in France a few weeks ago and French people have been in lockdown since March 17. The repercussions of this pandemic are significant, and the Government has been authorized, by Emergency Act No. 2020-290 of 23 March 2020, to take measures through ordinances (which means that no debate is required...

• LexBlog France

Le COVID-19 a fait son apparition en France il y a quelques semaines déjà et les Français sont confinés depuis le 17 mars dernier. Les répercussions de cette pandémie sont importantes, et le Gouvernement a été autorisé, par la loi n° 2020-290 du 23 mars 2020 d’urgence pour faire face à l’épidémie de covid-19, à...

• LexBlog France

Since January 2020, Coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, causing massive disruption to business and everyday life as well as thousands of deaths. The French Government has reacted in several stages. After issuing recommendations for barrier measures, it decided to close schools and more recently, it ordered the general confinement of French people...

• LexBlog France

On January 31, 2020, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced a settlement with Airbus SE (“Airbus”), the French aircraft manufacturer, in relation to bribery allegations and, in the US and France, export controls violations. The combined penalties total $3.9 billion, which is the largest anti-corruption settlement in history. The settlement offers insight...

• LexBlog France

Airbus’ record US$4 billion (AED 14.6 billion / 15 billion Saudi Riyal) global settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), France’s parquet national financier (PNF), and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for bribery and related offences has dominated the headlines over the past week. The investigation into Airbus uncovered bribery and attempted bribery...

• LexBlog France

Les plateformes de mise en relation (comme Uber ou Deliveroo), qui sont de plus en plus utilisées en France, font pourtant l’objet de nombreuses critiques, principalement fondées sur les conditions de travail des travailleurs indépendants qu’elles utilisent dans le cadre de leur activité. Le Gouvernement français s’est donné pour mission d’encadrer l’activité de ces plateformes,...

• LexBlog France

Le harcèlement sexuel est défini, dans le Code du travail, par « des propos ou comportements à connotation sexuelle répétés qui soit portent atteinte à [la] dignité [du salarié] en raison de leur caractère dégradant ou humiliant, soit créent à son encontre une situation intimidante, hostile ou offensante ». Le Code du travail prévoit également une...

• LexBlog France

The French employment Code defines sexual harassment as “repeated sexual comments or conduct that either violate the [employee’s] dignity because of their degrading or humiliating nature or create an intimidating, hostile or offensive situation against the employee“. The French employment Code also assimilates to sexual harassment “any form of serious pressure, even non-repeated, exercised for...

• LexBlog France

On 15 October 2019, the PRA published Policy Statement 24/19: Large exposures – reciprocation of French measure (PS24/19). In PS24/19 the PRA sets out its final rule following Consultation Paper 15/19: Large exposures – reciprocation of French measure (our blog is here). In this consultation the PRA proposed to apply a tighter limit for large...

• LexBlog France

The general rule under French law is that when employment contracts are terminated, employees are entitled to a prior notice period, the length of which depends on the status of the employee (executive or non-executive), their length of service, and in some cases their age. The applicable rules are generally set by the sector-wide collective...

• LexBlog France

The basic working time arrangement in France is 35 hours per week, and although there are a number of alternative working time arrangements potentially available, this is still the one that applies to the majority of French employees. However, this is not a maximum working week – employees working beyond that amount are entitled to...

• LexBlog France

La Cour de cassation vient de déclarer conforme aux engagements internationaux de la France, le « barème Macron » qui plafonne les indemnités attribuées par un juge en cas de licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse. Avant l’entrée en vigueur du « barème Macron », en cas de licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse , il appartenait au juge de fixer...

• LexBlog France

On 15 July 2019, the PRA published Consultation Paper 15/19: Large exposures: Reciprocation of French measure (CP15/19). In CP15/19 the PRA sets out its proposal to apply a tighter limit for large exposures to certain French non-financial corporations, to reciprocate the same measure imposed by France. The proposed measure applies on a consolidated basis to...

• LexBlog France

Whilst an employer is perfectly free to offer variable remuneration to an employee, the validity of such remuneration is subject to compliance with a number of conditions developed by the courts, as follows: – the variation of the remuneration must be based on objectives or targets the accomplishment of which are independent from the employer’s...

• LexBlog France

PACTE law : Key provisions in the field of industrial property   The French law for the growth and transformation of companies, (the PACTE law, from its French acronym), was definitively adopted by the French Parliament on 11 April 2019. The text, the purpose of which is to promote the development and competitiveness of French companies,...

• LexBlog France

In this on-demand webinar, members of our Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations team in London, France, the US and Hong Kong give their thoughts on likely regulatory enforcement and sanctions trends for the rest of this year based on recent enforcement cases and forward looking statements from the regulators. Topics discussed include individual accountability, anti-money laundering...

• LexBlog France

On 22 March 2019, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance passed a decree (the Decree) implementing the provisions of the ordinance n° 2019-75 of 6 February 2019, introducing a contingency plan for the financial institutions sector in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) (the Ordinance). As...

• LexBlog France

On 7 February 2019, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance passed an Ordinance (No. 2019-75) introducing a contingency plan for the financial institutions sector in connection with the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) (the Ordinance)[1]. The Ordinance amends the provisions of the French Insurance Code (FIC) (among others)...

• LexBlog France

In a joint statement on 31 January 2019, France, Germany and the UK (together, E3) announced the creation of a payment channel SPV (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, INSTEX) to offer European companies a settlement option in relation to their Iranian business activities. INSTEX aims to facilitate legitimate trade between European companies and Iran, focusing...

• LexBlog France

Anonymous reports have been mistrusted for a number of years in France, for historical reasons. While anonymity enables individuals to raise their voice more openly, without being the targets of retaliation measures, it can also drift into slander. This explains a specificity of French law under which whistleblowers using ethicals lines are strongly encouraged to...

• LexBlog France

The occurrence of certain events in an employee’s personal life may give rise to authorized leave for family reasons, particularly in case of bereavement. The French labor code provides for a list of events entitling an employee to take leave. These provisions are of Public Order and therefore cannot be derogated from in a way...

• LexBlog France

In Mallat c. Autorité des marchés financiers de France, 2018 QCCS 3867, Cohen J. granted a motion to dismiss an action brought by three Ubisoft executives (Plaintiffs) against the Autorité des marchés financiers de France (AMFF) and the Autorité des marchés financiers du Québec (AMFQ). Among many demands[1], the Plaintiffs requested declarations that the Multilateral...

• LexBlog France

Dismissal procedures are highly regulated in France including with respect to the identity of the individual who is entitled to conduct the procedure and sign the dismissal letter; such person must -by definition- be the “employer” .  However, some flexibility has been introduced over the years by French case law, and a recent decision of...

• LexBlog France

An individual freedom… Generally speaking, employees are free to choose how they wish to dress, including in the workplace. Such freedom is protected by the rules of the French labor code, which provide that an employer may not restrict an employee’s work clothing without proper justification based on the nature of the tasks to be...

• LexBlog France

The impact of the use of social media in the workplace has regularly given rise to controversies and debates as how this subject is to be handled by a company’s management. The current state of employment law is still not entirely settled in this respect. It is however possible to provide some guidance on the...

• LexBlog France

In a decision released July 6, 2017- Shinoff v BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc et al.– Justice France Dulude of the Québec Superior Court provided helpful guidance on the duties owed by investment advisors to their clients.  The plaintiff claimed that the defendants had failed to provide investment advice that was appropriate for his financial objectives. ...