De-industrialization is the hot theme of the presidential campaign, regardless of the political spectrum. Solutions brought forward by candidates are more or less concrete, more or less likely. They show little if any understanding of how globalization has made the world a village, through internet and its ability to give instant access to comparative data and decide to move business to welcoming countries.

But in the backyard of their courts, Appeal judges have silently elaborated what can be qualified as the dismissal visa. No more pay off of employees unfairly made redundant. Now the key question is to know whether the judges will authorize a French or foreign group to shut down a plant, downsize staff or disinvest or will merely tell them to keep their workers on the payroll.

www.employmentlawwatch.com/uploads/file/employment conference France.pdf

In short terms, French Courts of Appeal are devastating the property right and the freedom of enterprise, two fundamentals of the Rome treaty as well as French constitution principles.

At the end of this month, the Supreme Court will hear a case on this issue. In the meantime, Investors are holding their breath. All the more as at the end of this week, the Senate is voting on an extreme left wing MP proposal prohibiting so-called “stock exchange layoffs”.

In the meantime, the following PowerPoint presentation gives you an overview on this French distinctive feature and its consequences.

Nicolas Sauvage and Anker Sorensen will present this hot topic, with the special participation of experts, at the Reed Smith morning conference which will be held on March 28, 2012 in the Paris office.

For more information, you can access the invitation and program here.

Reply to Katia Hummel on khummel@reedsmith.com if you wish to attend. Please note that this conference will be held in French.