Under the Influence: The Distorted Priorities of the French EU Council Presidency
A Presidency prepared in close collaboration with the French corporate sector which is setting a policy agenda that strongly reflects business demands.
That is the verdict of Corporate Europe Observatory and Observatoire des multinationales in their new report “Under the influence: the distorted priorities of the French EU Council Presidency”, published in the run up to the start of the French Presidency on 1 January, 2022.
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Allô Bercy? Corporate Welfare in a Time of Pandemic
The French government offered unprecedented financial support to businesses in response to the Covid pandemic, and large corporations of the CAC40 stock index have greatly profited from it. With very few strings attached, whether in terms of dividend payouts or of climate commitments.
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Who’s after the French “Citizens’ Climate Convention”?
In our latest report, we lift the veil on the large-scale and particularly violent lobbying offensive against the proposals of the French Citizens’ Climate Convention.
All the articles
- 06.02.2018 After their attacks on climate science, industrial lobbyists target the scientific evidence on air pollution
- 13.09.2016 When Prisons, Inmates and Detention Policies Become Investment Products
- 13.09.2016 How to recognize a truly alternative, ethical and socially useful bank
- 13.09.2016 In Bangladesh, Rana Plaza Survivors Set Up Own Cooperative
- 13.09.2016 France’s Blatant Disregard for the Health of its People – How the Government and Lobby Groups have been Pushing Diesel Cars
Multinationals Dissected
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EssilorLuxottica
The world’s eyewear master, formed from the merger of leading lens manufacturer Essilor and top global frame producer Luxottica
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ST Microelectronics
The semiconductor giant, born of the merger of Italian and French state-owned firms, is incorporated under Dutch law with headquarters in Switzerland.
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Orano
The company born from the collapse of Areva has refocused on uranium, from mining to waste management, without addressing the problems of the past.
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Kering
Is the luxury goods giant, owned by the Pinault family, as environmentally and socially progressive as it claims?
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Air Liquide
A global leader in industrial gases, Air Liquide is intent on putting hydrogen at the centre of the climate transition.
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LVMH
The global luxury goods giant headed by Bernard Arnault is now Europe’s largest market capitalisation.
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Axa
A global insurance giant with close ties to the French political and business elite.
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Orange
The former public service France Télécom has become a multinational like any other, while maintaining close links with the French government.
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Our investigations
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Extractive Industries and the Right to Water: The Responsibility of Multinationals
This report is the conclusion of a series of investigations and articles on extractive industries and water.
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Total: An Illusion of Climate Strategy
Total likes to present itself as a responsible business with a strategy for dealing with climate change, but its actions are completely at odds with effective action to tackle the climate crisis.
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The EU and the Corporate Impunity Nexus
This report investigates the disturbing alignment of the EU with corporate lobby groups at the UN.
All issues
Our Commitment: investigate abuses of corporate power, and their remedies