Press review - Week of 19 May 2025

Press review – Week of 19 May 2025

This week’s press review covers Emmanuel Macron's position in favor of abolishing the European directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. It also looks at the businessman, Pierre-Edouard Stérin, regarding his refusal to appear before the parliamentary inquiry committee on “the organization of elections in France”, and the request by the public prosecutor's office to dismiss the case against Edouard Philippe, Agnès Buzyn and Olivier Véran in the investigation into the management of the Covid-19 crisis before the CJR (Court of Justice of the Republic). Finally, the press review looks back at the Senate report on Nestlé Waters' practices in the bottled water scandal.

#Duty of Vigilance and Human Rights:

At the Choose France summit, Emmanuel Macron speaks out in favor of abolishing the European directive on corporate sustainability due diligence

During the Choose France summit, Emmanuel Macron expressed his desire to see the European directive on corporate sustainability due diligence scrapped, echoing the recent stance of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He criticized an over-regulated Europe that is weakened in its ability to compete with foreign companies, particularly Chinese ones, which operate under lower standards. The directive requires companies to comply with environmental and social standards throughout their entire supply chain. NGOs, for their part, denounce what they see as the “unraveling of environmental measures“. > Read article

#Parliamentary inquiry committees and French Court of Justice of the Republic:

Pierre-Edouard Stérin refuses a new summon to the Assembly, the chairman of the inquiry committee announces to refer the case to the judiciary

Pierre-Edouard Stérin, a French businessman, was summoned for a second time to appear before the parliamentary inquiry committee on “the organization of elections in France” on 20 May 2025, but once again refused to attend, citing security reasons. The parliamentarians wanted to hear his views on the creation of his political project “Pericles” and the investments made by his fund “Otium Capital”, both of which are intended to influence public debate and elections. As a result, the chairman of the parliamentary inquiry committee announced that he will refer the matter to the public prosecutor, as refusing to appear before a parliamentary inquiry committee is an offence punishable by up to 2 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 7500 euros. > Read article

Covid-19: the Court of Justice of the Republic requests a dismissal for Edouard Philippe, Olivier Véran and Agnès Buzyn

On 21 May 2025, Remy Heitz, Public Prosecutor at the Cour de cassation, reported that the Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested the dismissal of charges against Edouard Philippe, Olivier Véran and Agnès Buzyn in the investigation led by the CJR (Court of Justice of the Republic) into the management of the Covid-19 crisis. As part of this judicial investigation opened in July 2020, the former Prime Minister and Health Ministers are currently placed under “assisted witness” (témoin assisté) status. Remy Heitz stated that the offence of “wilfully failing to combat a disaster” is not sufficiently well-founded, so that no prosecution should be brought against them. > Read article

#Ethics and compliance:

Bottled Water Scandal: Key Takeaways from the Senate Report on Nestlé Waters’ Practices

A Senate report published on 19 May 2025 denounces Nestlé Waters’ illegal treatment practices of mineral water, which has been wrongly marketed as “natural”. The document reveals that the quality of these waters does not meet current health standards, despite the group’s misleading claims. Senators also highlight the responsibility of the Regional Health Agency (ARS), accused of negligence, and suspect ongoing deceptive practices. To ensure the purity of mineral waters and restore consumer trust, the inquiry committee has issued 28 concrete recommendations in its report. > Read article