Commanded Aspirations and Half-Hearted Enactment: The (Yet) Unfulfilled Promises of French-Style CSR

Although France came rather late to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) gathering, strong political will to address the CSR notion emerged around the turn of the twenty-first century, materializing in a substantial and pioneering body of legislation. However, the political aspirations and associated legislative efforts have not always led to the expected changes in how French companies address CSR-related issues in practice. The seeds of CSR progress and evolution may have been planted by key political and business actors in the past two decades, but French-style CSR remains, to a certain extent, an unfulfilled promise. This chapter briefly evokes the central characteristics of CSR in France’s business and political environments. Following an account of the historical evolution of France’s CSR-related regulatory efforts and government-led initiatives, with a strong focus on the twenty-first century, this chapter details the central challenges for the continued development and progress of CSR in the French business landscape.