"Vinci unit to face French judge on Nov. 9 over labour conditions in Qatar", 7 Nov 2022

French construction group Vinci said on Monday one of its units will face an investigating judge in Paris on Wednesday to answer charges that it violated the rights of migrant workers helping to build stadiums for the 2022 World Curp in Qatar.

Vinci has repeatedly denied the claims by Paris-based human rights group Sherpa which in 2015 filed a complaint in a court in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, against Vinci's Construction Grand Projets division and the managers of its 49%-owned Qatari unit QDVC for "forced labour" and "keeping people in servitude" …

Vinci said in a statement on Monday that it was "extremely regrettable" that despite the proceedings having started seven years ago, its subsidiary should face charges just before the start of the Football World Cup in Qatar.

"None of the projects awarded to QDVC has any connection with the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar. In fact these projects were entrusted to QDVC before the competition was awarded to Qatar and mainly relate to transport infrastructures," it said …

It said it would continue to cooperate with the courts "with the objective to show that the allegations made against the group are unfair"...