Reed Smith LLP (LexBlog France)

In January 2022, several decisions by the French data protection regulator (“CNIL”) were published regarding the implementation of French cookie requirements, sending out a strong signal to website operators targeting French users. On 6 January 2022, the CNIL issued fines totalling 150 million euros and 60 million euros, to Google and Facebook respectively, for violations...

In France, a health pass[1] must be presented in certain places or events where there is a high risk of COVID-19 being contracted (e.g. concert halls/cinemas, sports events, bars and restaurants, long-distance transport, shopping centres over 20,000 m², etc.) as listed by the Law no. 2021-1040 dated 5 August 2021. Since 30 August 2021, employees...

On March 12, 2021, the French Council of State (Conseil d’Etat), the highest French administrative court, handed down a ruling (ordonnance des référés) allowing Doctolib, a company in charge of booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments, to rely on a U.S.-based health data host. In the present case, the servers of Doctolib – whose platform had been...

The French data protection authority (CNIL) rendered three major decisions impacting worldwide online service providers following online controls and investigations performed on the companies’ websites. These decisions highlight the obligations of data controllers when using cookies and other trackers, notably regarding the way the user’s consent shall be collected, and the level of information...

The French government, through its investment bank Bpifrance, has recently invested in the newly created Ace Aéro Partenaires fund, which aims to support French SMEs in the aviation industry that have been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent drop in aircraft deliveries. 630 million Euros have been raised so far, with the...

Unlike other countries, such as the US, France has a conservative approach of when and how IP right holders are entitled to disclose a pending infringement dispute to their clients and investors, under the legal concept of “disparagement”. France takes this step in order to limit the negative impact on the competitor resulting from disclosure...

As corporations continue to grapple with economic issues surrounding COVID-19, global life sciences companies must start to determine how laws in each of the jurisdictions in which they operate will impact their contractual responsibilities and opportunities for remedies in their business relationships. Life sciences companies with operations in France must recognize that their COVID-19 response..

Companies have been challenged with respect to their cookie policies and their implementation due to the entry into force of the GDPR earlier than the proposed ePrivacy Regulation  Given the delay in the adoption of an EU-wide regulation on e-privacy, national data protection authorities have taken the initiative in publishing guidelines on cookies requirements. The...

In response to France’s Digital Services Tax (DST), the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed additional ad valorem duties of up to 100 percent on certain products from France. The USTR issued a Section 301 Investigation Report on the DST, concluding that the DST discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles...

On December 2, 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Section 301 Investigation Report on France’s Digital Services Tax (DST), concluding that France’s DST discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies. In response, the USTR proposed up to...

This post is from the non-Reed Smith side of the blog. It may be post Mardi Gras season, but we don’t think there is ever a bad time to embrace the motto – “Laissez les bons temps rouler.” Quite literally – “Let the good times roll.” However, don’t try this with your high school French...

Paris Cannes Next week, the advertising industry gathers in Cannes, France for its annual awards celebration. In addition to the much coveted Lion statuette, countless leaders in the industry will be on hand for networking, speeches, and partying.  And there will be the usual dose of celebrities as well.  Amid all this revelry will be...

By virtue of the French “Sapin” law of January 29, 1993, France has become one of the most transparency-regulated media markets in the world, and remains so today. With the new Decree No 2017-159 of February 9, 2017, the protection of advertisers is further strengthened by extending the transparency requirements of the Sapin law to...

French parliamentarians are considering landmark anti-corruption laws that would be a considerable breakthrough for those in the fight against corruption. The French Constitutional Council must vote on the legislation within one month, and even if it is ruled invalid there are steps to be taken to keep the legislation alive. Some of the changes include...

Although the French class action system has gotten off to a slow start with only 6 actions initiated to date, the recently and anticipated expanded scope of the French class action system will impact the potential liability and insurance coverage of corporations domiciled and doing business in France. To learn more about the implications of...

Picture this: it’s 1793. In England, George III is on the throne and the Bank of England issues the first ever ‘fiver’.  In the U.S.A, George Washington hosts the first US cabinet meeting as President and the capital moves from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.  In France, the French Revolution is in full swing with King...

We’ve covered the French Sunshine Act, which requires French pharmaceutical companies to disclose their links to healthcare providers, extensively over the past few years and most recently here. France on the whole, however, has been lagging behind many other countries when it comes to anti-corruption laws. It looks like that’s about to change in ways...

On February 8 and 9, 2016, the French Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Prevention of Fraud (the ‘DGCCRF’) and the French Data Protection Authority (the ‘CNIL’), through an obviously concerted action, have publicised regulatory enforcement measures they are undertaking against Facebook. The DGCCRF is requiring Facebook to re-write its Terms and Conditions on the...

This post was also written by Martin Gätzner. France Under French law, the employment contract of an employee who is on sick leave is suspended. The employee is expected to inform his or her employer and the relevant social security organisations of the sickness absence within 48 hours, and will be entitled to receive social security...

The French government issued a bill on March 17 for the extension of class actions to health-related claims in France. Starting today, March 31, the text will be discussed at the French National Assembly, particularly to address the issue of compensation for personal injury within the framework of the proposed class action.

Class actions – which are progressively becoming part of the legal landscape in France as “actions de groupe” – will probably soon be extended to personal injury claims against health products manufacturers, suppliers or service providers using health products. On March 17, 2015, a new bill proposal was issued, advocating the creation of a class...

French Minister for Economic Affairs Emmanuel Macron recently introduced a bill proposing the recognition of legal privilege for in-house lawyers in France, which does not currently exist. However, this recognition was rejected by the Special Commission of the French National Assembly before the bill was passed by the lower chamber - a decision consistent with the Grand Chamber of the European...

This post was also written by Claudia Röthlingshöfer. Welcome to Reed Smith’s monthly global employment law blog post. This month’s post covers the protection afforded to whistleblowers around the world. France Under French law, employees cannot be sanctioned, dismissed or be subject to direct or indirect discriminatory measures (especially concerning salary, training, reclassification or...

In this article, the author Anker Sorensen, a senior partner of the Financial Industry Group of Reed Smith Paris, practising predominantly in the area of Corporate and Restructuring, sets out various recent labor related reforms applicable in France in 2014 and discusses recent court decisions, which may deter investors, and particularly foreign investors, instead of...

France has recently adopted the class action system. This system is, however, framed and – temporarily – excludes health- or environment-related litigation. An overhaul is already scheduled in 30 months.  Read more on Life Sciences Legal Update.

This past year both the U.S. and France enacted substantial new reporting and disclosure requirements under their respective Sunshine Acts, which were designed to increase the transparency of the financial relationships between manufacturers and health care professionals and to allow patients to make more informed decisions regarding their health treatments. The U.S. and French Sunshine...

The Wellcome Trust has collaborated with a number of leading medical research organisations to lobby the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers against amendments to the proposed EU Regulation, which could severely restrict the future growth of the life sciences sector in the EU. The lobby group comprises of the European Organisation for Research...

Reed Smith’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Law blog features a post on the recent launch of the new state portal in France. “The implementation of the French transparency regulation: first good news?,” written by Reed Smith partner Daniel Kadar, discusses how the portal will allow health care companies to more easily disclose transparency information to the French government...

This post was written by Daniel Kadar. As a champion for the protection of personally identifiable information and with broad definitions for the concepts of personal and medical data, France has established a very specific set of policies requiring that all bodies hosting medical data must apply for official accreditation or work with an accredited...

This post was written by Daniel Kadar. The French CNIL has adopted and published a new set of guidelines that set forth “best practices” about privacy protection at work (the Guidelines). As is often the case in France – in particular if connected to labor law regulations – the lector should bear in mind that...