France: Company groups : the tort responsibility of the parent company can be engaged

The principle of co-employment, which makes it possible to trace the financial obligations of the contractual employer to the co-employer, is less and less recognized by the Court of Cassation. In a recent case, however, the High Court acknowledged that the group’s largest shareholder was ordered to pay damages for its extra-contractual liability which led to the loss of employment of the employees and the liquidation of the society. Clarification provided by the Court of Cassation: the fault must result from management decisions wrongly taken by the parent company which would exploit, in its sole interest, the state of dependence of its subsidiary, compromising at the same time the capacity of the parent company. to act in accordance with his interest.