Justice rules in favor of Carrefour regarding its lease-managed stores, the CFDT appeals the decision

In its judgment, the Evry judicial court highlighted on Friday “the existence of negotiations which preceded and then accompanied these transitions to rental management and franchise”.

The CFDT Services Federation, which contested the transition to lease management of numerous Carrefour stores and denounced a “disguised social plan”was dismissed on Friday, November 21, all of its requests by the judicial court of Evry (Essonne).

The union, which attacked the distribution giant in March 2024, demanded 23 million euros in compensation for employees it said were injured, and an end to transfers to rental management. But the CFDT does not “does not demonstrate in a sufficiently convincing manner the existence of an abuse of the Carrefour group’s right to freedom of enterprise”ruled the Evry judicial court, on which the company’s headquarters, located in Massy (Essonne), depends.

Since the arrival at the helm of Alexandre Bompard in 2017, Carrefour has evolved its model towards more and more franchise and rental management stores, a variant of franchising where the distributor remains the owner of the business. The group can thus maintain its commercial market share and remove loss-making stores from its accounts, while passing on certain costs, such as salaries, to an independent retailer. The employees concerned keep their Carrefour colors, but lose certain social benefits after a period of 15 months during which a replacement agreement can be negotiated.

Since 2018, 344 supermarkets and hypermarkets have been leased, involving more than 27,000 employees, according to the CFDT. For its part, the Carrefour group argues that this model has made it possible to save stores and jobs in a highly competitive context, as Alexandre Bompard said in May.

In its judgment, the court underlined “the existence of negotiations which preceded and then accompanied these transitions to rental management and franchise”. He also considered that the link, denounced by the CFDT, between these changes and “the deterioration of working conditions or the development of psychosocial risks” was not demonstrated “in a detailed and objective manner”.

Crossroads “welcomes” that justice has dismissed the CFDT in its proceedings against the transition of stores to rental management, the mass distribution giant indicated on Friday in a press release sent to franceinfo. In the document, Carrefour welcomes a decision confirming “the legality of the use of rental management and franchising, both in principle and in its terms”. “Transitions to rental management and franchising can continue in 2026”welcomed the group, regretting “once again that the CFDT has made the choice of judicialization” while confirming “his attachment” to social dialogue.

For its part, the CFDT decided to appeal the court decision, recalling in a press release published Friday that “the Ministry of the Economy itself is involved in certain procedures, proof of the seriousness of the issues”. The union also declares that it “will continue to tirelessly defend the rights of employees and denounce a socially dangerous model”.