From the Mediator that shook the pharmaceutical world to the “Luxleaks” in the financial world, many cases have been brought to the public square by whistleblowers, who often describe their commitment as a long ordeal with an uncertain outcome. Also the bill of deputy Sylvain Waserman (MoDem), which reinforces the role of counter-power of these people who often pay a high price for their fight (intimidation, dismissal, legal proceedings), must make it possible to strengthen a “democratic pillar” .
The text, which was the subject of an agreement between deputies and senators at the beginning of the month, must be submitted to a final vote this Wednesday afternoon in the Senate dominated by the right, completing three months of legislative progress. Worked with the Ministry of Justice, the Council of State and the associations, the bill defines their status more precisely, guides their procedures, strengthens their rights and those of the people or associations that assist them, facilitates their financial and psychological support. , among others. It transposes into French law a European directive of 2019, going beyond what is required by European law, and corrects the imperfections of the pioneering law, known as “Sapin II”, of 2016, little used to date.
“The best text in Europe”
“This law deals with each stage in the life of whistleblowers. Their protection becomes a pillar of our democracies, alongside freedom of the press,” argues Sylvain Waserman. According to him, it constitutes “the best text in Europe” in this field. The association la Maison des Lanceurs d’alerte, which mobilized against any weakening of the text, welcomed a “strong signal in favor of citizen vigilance”. The whistleblower is defined as “a natural person who reports or discloses, without direct financial compensation and in good faith, information relating to a crime, an offence, a threat or harm to the general interest”, or a violation of an international commitment by France.
The new law provides for certain exceptions, such as facts and information covered by national defense secrecy, that of judicial deliberations or medical secrecy. The text specifies and diversifies the channels internal to the company, or external, available to whistleblowers to validate their approach. The Sapin II law was considered imperfect because it favors internal reporting to the employer, a method that can be dissuasive or counterproductive.
The whistleblower will therefore now be able, if he wishes, to go directly through an external channel – Defender of Rights, justice, administrative authority or authorized legal entity… The Defender of Rights will have a deputy specially responsible for assisting whistleblowers . Justice will also have additional tools to facilitate the defense of their rights. The “facilitators”, who accompany the whistleblower, will also be better recognized and protected. The text also provides for sanctions against those who seek to stifle their action under abusive procedures (“gag” procedures), or subject them to reprisals.
Not extended to foreign whistleblowers
But the law also seeks to avoid the pitfall of abusive alert procedures, motivated by personal interest alone or based on illegal practices. Thus, to benefit from criminal immunity, the whistleblower must have lawful knowledge of the information he uses. For example, illustrates Sylvain Waserman, “no one has the right to put microphones in the office of his boss to know if there is something to find and to launch an alert”. “On the other hand, if you are shown a report proving that a factory is dumping mercury into a river, you have the right to steal it to prove the facts of which you have lawful knowledge,” he adds.
Contrary to the wishes of the deputies of La France Insoumise, who notably pleaded the case of the founder of Wikileaks, the Australian Julian Assange threatened with being extradited from Great Britain to the United States, the new law has not been extended. foreign whistleblowers. The new law nevertheless received the support of the American Frances Haugen, a former computer scientist from Facebook who came to the Palais Bourbon last November to denounce the excesses of the internet giants.
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