Juridique et Administratif

🗿 Museums d'Orsay and de l'Orangerie in Paris fell victim to mirror site fraud on January 24, temporarily disabling their ticketing systems. Hundreds of visitors were scammed through fraudulent websites mimicking the original ones, directing them to buy tickets which led to the collection of personal and banking information. The issue was resolved by January 25. Previously, Parc Astérix also reported similar fraud. In response, the museums, which welcomed 4.9 million visitors in 2024, have filed a complaint.

🛃 On January 25, 2025, the French Minister of the Interior released a new circular on regularization of undocumented foreigners, effective immediately. Regularization is exceptional and not for those posing a public threat. A stay of 7 years is a key integration indicator, up from 3 years per the February 2024 circular. Catherine Quérard, GHR President, emphasizes the need for clear guidelines, particularly for employed foreigners.

📃 Between 2007 and 2009, a series of suicides linked to France Télécom's massive restructuring and workforce reduction led to the trial of its executives for institutional moral harassment. The Cour de Cassation recognized "institutional moral harassment" as a degradation of working conditions knowingly imposed by company policy. This landmark decision, while rooted in the specific case, has broader implications for all companies and the handling of moral harassment.

💵 Starting from January 1, 2025, access conditions for hiring apprentice aid change. Companies with fewer than 250 employees will receive a maximum aid of €6,000 for contracts signed from this date, supporting apprentices up to the baccalaureate level (+2 years in overseas departments) for the first year of contract execution only. A forthcoming decree is set to offer €2,000 for firms over 250 employees for diplomas up to master's level, with hiring quotas, and reduce aid to €5,000 for smaller companies focusing on baccalaureate level degrees (or +2 years overseas).

💣 Thermes de Plombières-les-Bains, managed by AVEC group, placed in judicial liquidation by Bobigny commerce court. This results in 16 job losses and challenges for the town known for thermal waters. Local authorities' attempts to rescue the facility failed due to political disagreements. Bernard Bensaïd, AVEC's CEO, open to selling the property under acceptable terms. Plombières-les-Bains faces an uncertain future without AVEC.

📝 In early 2025, Philippe Fourquet, Secretary General of the Portail du Rebond, urged a wide range of actors involved in supporting struggling entrepreneurs to adopt the measures of the "rapport Bourbouloux." This report was presented to Economy Minister Antoine Armand at the 3rd Assises du Rebond, during a period of political and economic uncertainty with record business failures. Authored by judicial administrator Hélène Bourbouloux and initiated by Olivia Grégoire, former Minister in charge of Enterprises, Tourism, and Consumption, the report tackles the cultural stigma of entrepreneurial failure, identifies legal and financial barriers to quick business recovery, and highlights the lack of educational programs addressing failure as part of the entrepreneurial process.

🏨 Mandarin Oriental and Taj Hotels ended their contracts with a luxury complex in 2011 and 2014, respectively. The complex, owned by businessman Jawad Kadiri, was structurally loss-making and faced multiple scandals, leading to its liquidation in 2016. Maghreb Intelligence reports that the Marrakech Court of Appeal has ordered the sale of Kadiri's properties, JK Hôtels and JK Hôtel Résidences, valued at 36 million euros, with the sale scheduled for February 5, 2025.

💳 Electronic payment systems involve multiple actors, each charging a fee. Interchange fees set by Visa or Mastercard range from 0.3% to 2%. Fixed technical processing fees are generally between €0.20 and €0.50. Online platforms like PayPal or Stripe have higher fees due to increased fraud risk. Foreign cards incur additional 1% to 3% exchange fees and specific international processing charges. A typical restaurant scenario: selling 20 gift vouchers monthly at €150 each, with a cost of €50 for platform subscription, €45 in bank fees (1.5%), and €5 in fixed processing fees, totals €100 monthly or €1,200 annually. For a hotel-restaurant, daily transactions (e.g., 20 rooms at 70% occupancy and 80 restaurant covers) can amount to monthly fees of around €2,720 (over €32,640 annually). Bank fees for a traditional restaurant with €100,000 monthly turnover can reach €1,850 (€22,200 annually), potentially covering an employee’s annual salary or half a year's marketing budget. Fee variations depend on transaction volumes, card types, and bank rates. MyBeezBox offers an all-inclusive solution with integrated bank fees for transparency and simplified management.

📊 In 2024, 56% of customers choose establishments based on positive reviews in the Google local pack. 70% trust businesses with a 4 out of 5 rating. Surprisingly, Google may remove star ratings from sponsored listings. Anthony Higman, a Google Ads agency director, noticed the potential change which could shift the impact from Ads to SEO favorably. Google Ads, a quick but costly way to position a business, could be affected by such Google tests, making Google My Business optimization and local SEO vital for lasting visibility.

🍔 On January 15, 2025, eight Buffalo Grill restaurants in northern Brittany were placed in receivership by the Brest commercial court due to financial difficulties. Locations include Morlaix, Trégueux, Bain-de-Bretagne, Lamballe, Saint-Agathon, Lannion, and Guilers, with staff ranging from 14 to 23 employees per restaurant. The Guilers location opened in January 2024. Meanwhile, Gironde's CHR sector saw bankruptcies rise by 36%, attributing to increased energy costs, raw material prices, and state-guaranteed loan repayments rising from 1% to 4.5%.