
The Council of State annulled two judicial decisions which invalidated Auchan's job protection plan providing for nearly 2,400 job cuts, confirming its legality with regard to the labor code and the El Khomri law, despite the opposition of the CGT and FO which denounced justice favorable to the Mulliez.
AI-generated summary
Auchan's job protection plan, announced at the end of 2024, provided for nearly 2,400 job cuts and was successively invalidated by the administrative court of Lille then confirmed on appeal by the administrative court of appeal of Douai, before Auchan appealed to the Council of State.
The Council of State canceled on Friday two decisions which invalidated the giant job protection plan announced at the end of 2024 by the distributor Auchan, confirming the legality of this PSE contested by the CGT and FO, according to its decision consulted by AFP, previously mentioned by the LSA magazine. In January, the administrative court of appeal of Douai (North) confirmed the invalidation of this PSE providing for nearly 2,400 job cuts, decided a few months earlier by the administrative court of Lille. Auchan then appealed to the Council of State.
The Lille court had notably considered that the PSE “should have been signed by the union representatives of each of the five components of the Auchan Retail France group, a group of the Mulliez family. As on appeal, this point was dismissed by the highest French administrative court, which invoked the labor code and the El Khomri law of 2016, according to which agreements concluded at the level of a company can be concluded at the group level.
Skip the ad
Another reason, this time upheld on appeal, concerned the information and consultation procedure. On this occasion, Auchan Retail France provided the CSEs (economic and social committees) of the eight companies concerned by the PSE with figures at the level of the Suraumarché company, which controls these eight companies. Suraumarché being almost entirely owned by Acanthe, Valorest and Cimofat, three of the main companies in the Mulliez galaxy, the Douai Court of Appeal criticized Auchan for not having provided the CSE with data relating to these three holding companies. But these companies do not fall within the same field of activity (distribution) as Auchan, argued the Council of State, pointing to “an error of law” on the part of the court of appeal.
Also read Why the majority of Auchan supermarkets are preparing to go under the Intermarché or Netto banner
“Perpetually precarious”
Reacting in a press release, Auchan Retail welcomed a decision which “confirms the validity of the procedure initiated within the framework of the PSE”, recalling that it had been the subject of “a collective agreement signed mainly by the representative trade union organizations”. “For 2,090 jobs eliminated by the reorganization project, 1,415 employees have today found a solution” (internal reclassification, early retirement, employment, retraining, business creation), he added. Conversely, the CGT Commerce and Services denounced “double-speed justice”, accusing the Council of State of being “under the control of the Mulliez” by inflicting “a double punishment on the brand’s workers: layoffs and life-long precariousness”.
A definitive invalidation of the PSE would have at least opened the way to additional compensation before the industrial tribunal for employees who apply for it. “The job protection plan today is working,” assured AFP Gilles Martin, CFDT Auchan union delegate, an organization that signed the collective agreement and which did not join the legal action initiated by the CGT. “Everything that was negotiated, in particular by the CFDT, serves to support the employees who were victims of this job protection plan and especially its job cuts,” he argued.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The CGT and FO could go to the industrial tribunal to obtain additional compensation for employees made redundant despite the validation of the PSE.
Possible · Within months
The Belgian chain Manhattn's Burgers is opening its third Parisian restaurant at 10 place Saint-Michel, in the former Gibert Jeune bookstore in the Latin Quarter. If the manager is delighted to bring new life to a vacant premises, some local residents regret the loss of a cultural place and denounce the standardization of the neighborhood with fast food brands.

In less than three days, two alarming indicators have shown that France is dangerously approaching a financial crisis: the debt rate has reached its highest level in eighty years, comparable to the post-war period, while interest rates are close to 5%, a threshold not seen in more than two decades, reflecting the inability to control spending and the growing distrust of foreign creditors.

Interest rates on French 10-year debt rose to 4.99%, up from 4.2% a month ago and 3.3% in March, while the gap with Germany exceeds 150 basis points, signaling growing tensions in international bond markets.

The G7 decided to release up to 100 million barrels of oil and diesel over four months to counter soaring fuel prices. This measure, coordinated by the IEA, aims to relieve the global market before winter and the American elections.

The Circle of Economists opens 40% of its capital to CMA CGM, Bpifrance and Adit. The objective is to transform the Aix-en-Provence Economic Meetings into a global event, while strengthening the involvement of young people and international influence.

The CMA Media group, owned by Rodolphe Saadé, has finalized the acquisition of RMC Sport from Altice. This operation is accompanied by the creation of the CMA Sport entity, aiming to diversify the group's sporting rights and event activities.