"Auchan and the Rana Plaza tragedy: the multinational definitively escapes prosecution" 13 Dec 2023

10 years after the Rana Plaza collapse, the Cour of cassation, France’s highest court, rules in favour of Auchan. The multinational will not stand trial for misleading commercial practices. ActionAid France, Collectif Ethique sur l’Etiquette and Sherpa, the NGOs that filed the complaint, denounce the unfair credit given to companies’ audits and ethical commitments.    

In 2013, Auchan In Extenso brand labels were found in the rubble of the Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh. Sherpa, ActionAid France and the Collectif Ethique sur l’Etiquette filed a complaint on April 24th, 2014, arguing that given the working conditions at Rana Plaza, Auchan’s ethical commitments, in which it claimed to uphold workers’ rights throughout its value chain, constituted misleading commercial practices.

In April 2022, the investigating judge dismissed the case on the grounds of insufficient evidence, largely explained by the ineffectiveness of the judicial cooperation requested from Bangladesh. Eight months later, the appeal judges confirmed the decision to dismiss the case, noting that Auchan had carried out social audits and included contractual terms encouraging its suppliers to respect adequate working conditions...

[The NGOs] took proceedings before the Court of cassation so Auchan could be judged. On December 12th,  the Court ruled that it could not examine the organisations’ claim. Consequently, the Court did not rule on the question of the audits put forward by Auchan, which, according to the organisations, cannot ensure the veracity of its CSR statements.

For Salma Lamqaddam, Campaigner in charge of Women’s rights at work at ActionAid France: “A few days after the historical protest movement by Bangladeshi  garment workers, Auchan has definitively escaped prosecution for its involvement in the collapse of the Rana Plaza..."