Focus on France Ian Sparks reports from Paris

EURO-REPORT

FOCUS ON... France

Ian Sparks reports from Paris on concerns about preparations for the World Cup and the government’s attempts to make sure that its citizens are the right weight.

French construction giant Vinci has been accused of using ‘terrorised migrant slave labour’ on building projects linked to the 2022 football World Cup in Qatar.

The Paris-based human rights watchdog Sherpa claims foreign labourers have had their passports confiscated and live in ‘squalid lodgings’ while working 66 hours a week on ‘derisory wages’.

The group has lodged a legal complaint in France against Vinci for ‘forced labour infractions’ and ‘keeping people in servitude’ on building sites in the world’s richest state.

Sherpa spokeswoman Marie-Laure Guislain said: “Migrants are terrorised by the idea of the reprisals that they could suffer. We have collected formal proof of inhumane and dangerous working conditions and violation of international and local laws which explain the frequent accidents and deaths on building sites. And worse, passports are confiscated by the company and workers are subjected to threats if they attempt to leave or change employer.”

Sherpa director Laetitia Liebert added: “I hope this complaint will force Vinci to scrupulously respect the rights of migrant workers in the years to come and set an example for the whole of the construction industry. The construction will continue and even increase ahead of the World Cup, however various calls by unions and human rights groups have so far been insufficient to improve workers’ situations. It is therefore crucial to prevent any future violations of the basic rights of workers with this legal action.”

Vinci said it ‘absolutely denies’ the claims made by Sherpa, and said in a statement: “The group respects local labour laws and fundamental rights in Qatar as well as in all the countries where it operates. In Qatar, each worker has free access to his passport while work and rest times are strictly respected.”

The Qatar authorities have also denied the claims and accused foreign media of running a malicious campaign against the first Gulf nation to host a Soccer World Cup. Qatar also insisted none of the workers employed for World Cup projects have been exploited.

Qatar is Vinci’s second largest shareholder through its Qatar Investment Fund, which holds 5.3 per cent according to Thomson Reuters data.

The shock decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar came amid warnings about the extreme summer temperatures in the country, which can exceed 50 degrees. Football’s world governing body FIFA has now ruled the event will be held in November and December, sparking a flood of complaints from European football associations over disruption to their domestic seasons.

Size matters

Also in France, the government has voted to ban super-skinny models from the catwalk and advertising in a move widely opposed by the nation’s thriving fashion industry.

Fashion bosses will now face six month prison sentences or fines of up to €60,000 for hiring underweight girls in advertising or on the catwalk. The law means that models will need medical certificates showing their boss mass index – calculated by dividing one’s weight in kilogrammes by the square of one’s height in metres.

The tough new rules are an amendment to Health Minister Marisol Touraine’s health reform package by Socialist MP and neurologist Olivier Veran.

The new health reforms will also crack down so-called pro-anorexia websites that ‘incite extreme thinness’ by encouraging people to diet. It will now become illegal in France to ‘provoke a person to seek excessive weight loss by encouraging prolonged nutritional deprivation that could lead to health risks or death’. Offenders will face fines of up to €15,000 and a one-year prison sentence, the law states.

France’s National Union of Modelling Agencies has complained that the law on models will affect the competitiveness of the French fashion industry. But it is backed by veteran Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who said recently that the fashion industry had a duty to ‘work together against anorexia’. He added: “The industry has to recognise the link between its preference for abnormally thin models and the growth in eating disorders among young women.”

Also under the sweeping health reforms, France will tackle child obesity by banning restaurants from offering free unlimited fizzy drinks. The law will apply to all sugary soft drinks in places open to the public, including fast-food chains, cafes and restaurants. It also states that ‘water is the only essential drink’ and should be made freely available in all bars and restaurants.

The legislation aims to reduce consumption of fizzy drinks by 25 per cent after a study by France’s National Institute for Health and Medical Research found 20 million French people are now overweight and seven million of those are clinically obese – double the figure for 15 years ago. France imposed a ‘fat tax’ on sugary soft drinks four years ago in a bid to combat child obesity, which added just over 1p to a can of fizzy drink like Coca-Cola or Fanta. It also began rationing tomato ketchup and salt in school canteens to one day a week when chips are served.

A French health ministry spokesman said: “It is clearly unhealthy to be either too fat or too thin, and we are aiming to legislate for both. We French may be among the least overweight in Europe but we have nothing to be complacent about. Obesity in particular is rising as swiftly in France as it is in other EU countries and action must be taken before it gets any more serious.” n