The multiple legal proceedings and dismissals concerning asbestos in France

The Paris Court of Appeal is to rule on Wednesday on the validity of the dismissal rendered in February 2022 in the case of asbestos poisoning on the Jussieu university campus.

Reminder of the main court decisions in France concerning this carcinogenic fiber, widely used in construction and industry until the end of the XNUMXth century.

September 6, 1996: first criminal proceedings

The Paris prosecutor's office opens the first criminal proceedings (against X) about exposure to asbestos, after the complaint of an electrician suffering from cancer of the pleura.

Two months before, the Minister of Labor Jacques Barrot announced that the manufacture, import and sale of asbestos would be prohibited in France from January 1, 1997.

October 29, 1996: Eternit

First judicial investigation against the leaders of Eternit, a fiber cement company, opened by the prosecution of Valenciennes (North).

November 19, 1996: Jussieu

The Paris prosecutor's office opens a judicial investigation against "X" concerning the presence of asbestos in Jussieu, from where the first major anti-asbestos mobilization started in the 1970s.

The Minister of National Education, François Bayrou, announces the complete "asbestos removal" of this Parisian university campus.

December 18, 1997: Eternit condemned

The Dijon Court of Appeal condemns Eternit for "inexcusable fault" by the employer towards four former employees or beneficiaries. Many manufacturers and shipyards were subsequently sentenced for the same reason.

May 30, 2000: the "offending" state

The administrative court of Marseille judges for the first time the State "responsible" for four deaths, invoking its "culpable delay" to "enact more severe standards regarding the inhalation of asbestos fibers in the professional environment". Judgment confirmed on March 3, 2004 by the Council of State.

May 11, 2010: prejudice of anxiety

The Court of Cassation recognizes that asbestos workers can benefit from compensation for anxiety damage.

February 8, 2013: Amisol, dismissal

The Paris Court of Appeal dismisses the case of the Amisol asbestos spinning plant in Clermont-Ferrand.

April 14, 2015: Martine Aubry cleared

Martine Aubry is indicted on November 7, 2012 for homicide and involuntary injuries as former director of labor relations of the Ministry of Labor in the investigation into exposure to asbestos at Valeo factories in Condé-sur-Noireau (Calvados ). The mayor of Lille was definitively exonerated on April 14, 2015 by the Court of Cassation.

June 13, 2017: non-places requested

The Paris public prosecutor's office requests the end of the investigations in several criminal investigations, considering it impossible to date precisely the intoxication of the victims.

This decision resulted in a series of dismissals: July 10, 2019 for Eternit officials (dismissal confirmed on appeal on February 13, 2023), July 17, 2019 for the case of the Valeo factories in Condé-sur- Noireau.

January 22, 2021: resumption of investigation on Everite

The Paris Court of Appeal orders the resumption of the investigation into Everite, considering that its managers can be held responsible for the exposure of employees, reversing a dismissal of 2018 on this subsidiary of Saint-Gobain.

February 24, 2022: Jussieu, dismissal

Justice orders the abandonment of the proceedings for Jussieu: it is "not possible to link the damage to any faults which could be attributed - with certainty - to persons having a responsibility in the exposure to asbestos" .

October 12, 2022: investigation into the RATP

Opening of a judicial investigation at the Paris court for "endangering others" concerning the RATP and a subcontractor after the complaint of a worker who worked 20 years on the renovation of the Paris metro.

May 3, 2023: Marseille theater

One year in prison required in Marseille against a former head of the city department who transmitted an asbestos diagnosis two years late, contributing to the exposure of employees of the La Criée theater. Deliberate on June 26.

May 19, 2023: refusal of a criminal trial

The Paris court rules inadmissible a direct summons procedure with a view to a criminal trial against 14 former officials (representatives of ministries, business leaders or doctors) who, according to the complainants, sought to delay the ban on asbestos in 1997.