ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

The Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris (Paris Judicial Court) has concluded that the Rocher Group – the parent of the cosmetics company Yves Rocher – failed to comply with the Duty of Vigilance Law concerning violations of workers’ rights at its Turkish subsidiary. The ruling states that the subsidiary laid off over 130 employees between 2018 and 2019 after they joined the Petrol-Is trade union, citing reasons related to deplorable working conditions, ongoing discrimination against women, and sexist and sexual violence.

The case was brought by ActionAid France, Sherpa, Petrol‑Is, and 81 former employees. The Paris Judicial Court determined that Yves Rocher had breached its legal duty to identify and prevent serious human rights risks within its international operations. The Court highlighted the company’s failure in omitting the Turkish subsidiary from its vigilance plan and neglecting measures to prevent union-busting and rights violations. Consequently, the Court ordered compensation of EUR 40,000 and EUR 48,000 for Petrol‑Is and six former employees, respectively. The majority of the former employees’ claims were rejected on the basis that their losses had already been settled in 2019 with the Turkish subsidiary.

This is the first time a company has been held responsible for human rights violations overseas under the French Duty of Vigilance Law.