France: political tug of war over a proposed law on due diligence

On 21 October a proposed law on parent company and contracting businesses’ due diligence will go for examination before a Senate plenary meeting. The National Assembly previously adopted the text after its first reading on 20 March 2015. This law constitutes an historic move forward in the prevention of human and environmental damage that the activities carried out by multinational businesses as well as their subsidiaries, sub-contractors and suppliers in both France and the world may provoke. France as the driver of this initiative is being closely watched by its peers especially in Europe.
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However, following intense private sector pressure led by the l’Association française des entreprises privées ((AFEP), the private sector businesses association) the proposed law has met with significant opposition in the Senate. Christophe-André Frassa (Republican) the rapporteur tasked with evaluating the text attempted to freeze the debate by introducing a dilatory motion (an extraordinary measure) aimed at suspending French parliamentary debate until a European Directive on the issue is...

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