Socfin, the parent company of Socapalm, was condemned in France for having deliberately failed to transmit documents which could demonstrate links between the Bolloré group and the company.
140,000 euros, or more than 92 million FCFA. This is the amount that an enforcement judge in Nanterre, France, ordered the Rubber Finance Company (Socfin) to pay to Cameroonian residents. 145 local residents denounce shortcomings in the exploitation of palm trees by Socapalm (Société Camerounaise de Palmeraies), a local subsidiary of Socfin. They also claim that Socapalm is controlled by the Bolloré group via the Belgian-Luxembourg holding company Socfin, which would subject the French industrial giant to a “duty of vigilance” regarding its activities.
By proving this, Bolloré’s liability would in fact be engaged as required by the 2017 French law which requires the largest companies to prevent serious violations of human rights and the environment among their foreign subcontractors and suppliers. And in the present case, the Cameroonian plaintiffs denounce the grabbing of their land and burial sites, and the pollution of waterways by chemicals. They say they have not benefited from development actions in terms of compensation while they are deprived of arable areas and their forests, the questioning of working conditions on plantations, etc.
According to AFP, the judge condemns Socfin for not having transmitted documents which could establish the group’s links with the Bolloré company. These included the minutes of the general meetings of Socfin and Socapalm for the last four financial years to “determine the exact role played by the company Bolloré SE within them”. A request which was made by the courts in December to Socfin. This after recognizing that the activities of Socapalm are likely to “infringe the fundamental rights” of the applicants “and in particular their right to a healthy environment”.
The Nanterre execution judge notes that Socfin did share certain documents but “deliberately excluded certain pieces”. In addition to the 140,000 euros to be paid to the plaintiffs, Socfin will have to pay 4,000 euros per day of delay if it does not present the documents.
