The bill relating to the duty of vigilance of parent companies and ordering companies was adopted on March 30, 2015, at first reading by the National Assembly.
This text mainly provides that companies which employ, at the end of two consecutive financial years, at least five thousand employees within them and in their direct or indirect subsidiaries whose head office is located on French territory, or at least ten thousand employees within them and in their direct or indirect subsidiaries whose head office is located in France or abroad, must establish and effectively implement a vigilance plan.
The procedures for presenting and applying the vigilance plan as well as the conditions for monitoring its implementation must be the subject of a decree.
In the event of non-compliance with these provisions, the text provides for the possibility for the president of the court ruling in summary proceedings to impose a civil fine, the amount of which may not exceed 10 million euros.
This same sanction would be applicable in the event of the implementation of the company's liability. The text was tabled in the Senate on March 31, 2015. No committee work date has yet been set.
