Covid-19

The conditions of detention, already well deteriorated due to the overcrowding that has been a constant feature of places of deprivation of liberty for several years, are necessarily and unfortunately adversely affected by the health situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. How to implement social distancing, and more broadly, so-called “barrier gestures” (i.e. preventative measures that each individual should take to protect himself/herself and others against COVID-19) in places where the daily life is marked by the proximity between fellow inmates? It is impossible to do so.

Consequently, many requests for release from pretrial detention have been filed with the Liberty and Custody Judge. However, these requests for release have been dismissed. Following the upholding of a dismissal order, one inmate appealed to the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court). On August 19, 2020, the Criminal Chamber of the Cour de Cassation issued a ruling that confirmed the dismissal of the request for release.

On July 28, 2020, the Paris Court of Appeals ruled on the dispute between EDF and Total Direct Energie concerning the suspension by Total Direct Energie of the framework agreement for the purchase of nuclear electricity that they had entered into, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Court of Appeals upheld the interim order issued by the Paris Commercial Court on May 20, 2020 and found that the Covid-19 pandemic constituted a force majeure event justifying the suspension by Total Direct Energie of the framework agreement as soon as this event occurred.

The French government immediately responded to the health crisis created by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic through situational tools that helped companies quickly handle this exceptional worldwide crisis.
Together, these instruments have enabled many companies to swiftly adapt to the crisis. They also made it possible to maintain employment and, more generally, to protect businesses.

The COVID-19 pandemic affect billions of people worldwide and has an increasingly devastating impact on the economy.

Companies are facing new challenges and the need for practical legal advice is more important than ever. Legal concerns relate to health restrictions, corporate governance, contracts, business transactions, insurance, insolvency and others.

In order to best assist our clients in these difficult times, we have prepared a summary of the main issues that businesses may face as a result of COVID-19.

On May 11, 2020, the state of health emergency was extended through the adoption of Law No. 2020-546 which supplemented existing provisions. One of the purposes of this legislation is to mitigate the employer’s liability in the event of infection or exposure to infection by the Covid-19.

Indeed, many companies had to continue operating since the outbreak of the crisis, thereby exposing employees to the risk of infection. In the event of infection of one of them by the virus, the employer, i.e. both the natural person who is at the head of the company and the company itself as legal entity, may be held liable.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more specifically the so-called “lockdown-lifting” strategy, the French Government decided to implement an app called “StopCovid” available on smartphones, the aim of which is to alert its users that they have been in close proximity to people who have been tested positive for COVID-19 and who use the same app, as this proximity entails a risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

This is one of the digital devices implemented by the Government as part of this overall “lockdown-lifting” strategy.