Legal Insights

Although the scientific community has been warning of the risks associated with the use of poly- or perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) since the early 2000s, there was until now no regulations governing discharges from industrial facilities.

As part of the PFAS 2023 2027 action plan presented earlier this year by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, a ministerial order relating to the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water discharges from classified facilities that are subject to the so-called authorization regime was published on June 20, 2023.

Since September 1, 2023, a new social regime applies to the mutual termination indemnity.

The mutual termination indemnity is no longer subject to the 20% flat-rate contribution but to a single contribution of 30%.

On July 10, 2023, the European Commission adopted its adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

This decision concludes that the USA ensures an adequate level of protection – comparable to that of the European Union – for personal data transferred from the European Union to US companies under the new Framework.

As such, personal data can henceforth flow safely from the European Union to US companies adhering to the new Framework, without having to put in place additional data protection safeguards.

In two judgments handed down on June 16, 2023, the Paris Administrative Court recognized for the first time the existence of a causal link between the bronchiolitis and ear infections affecting two children and the French State’s failure to take action in terms of air pollution.

These two judgments have been issued in a context marked by increased sanctions against the French State in environmental matters.

On July 1, 2021, in a case brought by the municipality of Grande-Synthe and several environmental organizations, the Conseil d’État (French Administrative Supreme Court) had ordered the French Government to take all necessary measures before March 31, 2022 to meet the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, in order inter alia to comply with the Paris Agreement and the European commitments taken on by the French legislature

Almost two years later, the Conseil d’État found that its decision had not been enforced. In a ruling dated May 10, 2023, it ordered the French Government to take new measures by June 30, 2024, and to submit a progress report by December 31, 2023 detailing these new measures and their effectiveness.

On May 3, 2023, the European Commission presented proposals that represent a milestone in the fight against corruption at national and EU levels.

The proposed measures aim to prevent corruption and create a culture of integrity, criminalize all corruption offences under the United Nations Convention against Corruption, harmonize penalties across the European Union and establish a dedicated common foreign and security policy sanctions regime to target serious acts of corruption worldwide.