In a public competition launched by the “Pays de la Loire” region, the specific administrative clauses required foreign candidate companies to use an interpreter to explain to non-French-speaking workers the social rights available to them in France and the safety regulations they had to respect on the construction site.

The “Préfet” (representative of the French State in the region), considering said clause contrary to the principle of free competition, as it is discriminatory against foreign companies, requested its annulment before the administrative courts.

In a judgment dated December 4, 2017 (no. 413366), the Conseil d’État (Supreme Administrative Court) upheld the validity of this “interpretation clause.” To reach this conclusion, it considered, firstly, that the French Labor Code mandates the application of the essential principles of French labor law to foreign companies that post their employees to France. Secondly, it ruled that “Even assuming that the clause in question may restrict the effective exercise of a fundamental freedom guaranteed by European Union law [free competition], it pursues an objective of general interest, the fulfillment of which it guarantees, without going beyond what is necessary to achieve it.”

According to the press release from the “Conseil d’État” regarding this ruling, the “interpretation clause” should not be confused with the well-known “Molière Clause”, which mandates the exclusive use of the French language in works and which has been criticized by the courts, as it is considered that it does not aim to guarantee the protection of workers but rather to exclude posted workers and favor regional companies.