Clifford Chance
New French law imposing due diligence requirements in relation to human rights, health and safety, and the environment
3 March 2017
A bill imposing new due diligence requirements on large companies was adopted by France's National Assembly on 21 February 2017, although it must yet survive review by the Constitutional Court before coming into effect.
Adoption of the bill comes two years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh that killed more than a thousand people. This bill is aimed at preventing similar catastrophes from occurring by creating new, specific due diligence obligations for large French companies regarding their activities, and those of their subsidiaries and entities within their supply chain, that may result in serious violations of human rights, health and safety protections and the environment.
