Legal Insights

Private equity involves the association of one or more entrepreneurs and one or more financial investors who provide financing to unlisted companies and even sometimes listed companies.

In private equity transactions, investors are expected to exit in the short or medium term. Several exit routes are available to capital investors: trade sale, transfer to the management team, sale to another investment fund or initial public offering.

As part of its action plan on targeted advertisement, the French Data Protection Authority (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés or “CNIL”) is proposing a consultation on a draft recommendation on practical procedures for collecting Internet user consent for the use of online trackers.

Following the guidelines recalling the legal provisions that govern the use of cookies and other trackers adopted on July 4, 2019, the CNIL conducted a consultation during the fall of 2019, in order to prepare a draft recommendation proposing operational procedures for obtaining consent. This draft is now subject to public consultation until February 25, 2020. At the end of this period, a final version of the recommendation will be presented for final adoption.

In today’s increasingly information dominated society, the National Assembly’s Law Committee has asked MPs Xavier Breton and Didier Paris to carry out a fact-finding mission on the secrecy of pre-trial investigations and inquiries.

In their report published in December 2019, they rightly point out the inconsistencies that surround this principle, which is fundamental, but which is undermined by the legitimate need for information. Beyond this observation, the rapporteurs draw up a list of recommendations in order to adapt the secrecy of pre-trial investigations and inquiries to the evolutions of today’s society.

The recent Panama Papers and LuxLeaks scandals have illustrated the urgent need to establish legislation to protect whistleblowers, as their revelations have raised awareness of the serious breaches of EU law – particularly harmful to the public interest – and of the precariousness of their status.

In a decision issued on September 18 2019, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) recalled that while disparagement which constitutes an act of unfair competition necessarily results in a business disruption, a claim for compensation must be dismissed wherever the existence of the alleged damage is not duly established.

Very regularly called by a home insulation company, a person who had asked the operator to stop calling and exercised her right to object decided to lodge a complaint with the French data Protection Authority.