SPC Group, which owns the bakery chain Paris Baguette, filed an administrative litigation on 31 October. The litigation was to nullify a corrective order from the MOEL and to suspend execution. In that corrective order, Paris Baguette was ordered by the MOEL to directly hire 5,300 bakers currently employed by its subcontractors. It was assumed that the company decided to take litigative action since the government would press charges with prosecutors and seek financial penalties if the company did not obey the order by 9 November.
Paris Baguette explained that “the company is continuously asking for an extension of the period to carry out the order. However, the lawsuit was filed just in case the MOEL does not approve the extension.” The requested extension was to be until 27 October, but the MOEL had not approved the request as of publication.
A spokesperson from SPC Group stated that “even if the MOEL extends the period, it will still take a long time to explain to the bakers the joint-venture established by Paris Baguette and the subcontractors. The lawsuit was filed to buy some time, and can always be withdrawn if circumstances allow.”