France: an EWC member remains a member until the end of the mandate even if s/he switches union affiliation

French EWC representatives are often designated by their national trade union among elected officials in the national bodies. In a first, the courts have recognized a 'European Mandate' when a union representative switches union during the life of the EWC mandate. In a ruling handed down by the Versailles Appeals Court on 14 March in a case over Axa's EWC (CEG) the judges affirmed that 'representation within the CEG means employee representation and not mean union representation,' and that if the designated EWC member switches union membership during the course of the EWC mandate this does not authorize the original union to terminate the EWC member's mandate. Underlying the ruling is the fact that the agreements governing nominees at Axa only provide for early termination of their four-year mandates if the original mandate is lost. In this case the two representatives in question had left their union but had also been elected as deputy members in a work council for another French organization.