Today, the investigating chamber confirmed the indictment of Vinci Construction Grands Projets in the forced labor case on its construction sites in Qatar. Sherpa, which filed the complaint alongside the Comité contre l’esclavage moderne (Committee against Modern Slavery) and several former workers, welcomes this further step towards access to justice for former workers.
Nine years after a complaint was initially lodged in 2015 by Sherpa, and after nearly five years of investigation, the judges of the Investigating Chamber have confirmed the indictment of Vinci Constructions Grands Projets for reduction to servitude, forced labour, working and housing conditions incompatible with human dignity, and obtaining services in exchange for remuneration manifestly unrelated to the importance of the work performed.
The multinational argued that its indictment should be quashed on the grounds of an alleged excess of powers on the part of the examining magistrate, and the absence of serious or concordant clues that it may have committed these offences.
In 2014, Sherpa was able to travel to Qatar and gather testimonies about the working conditions prevailing at the time on certain sites operated by Vinci’s Qatari subsidiary, including continuing to work in heat of over 45° with insufficient water or shade, withholding passports, the need for them to go into debt in order to pay large sums to recruitment agencies, fainting spells, insufficient access to showers and toilets in accommodation, barely edible food, and so on.
In 2023 and 2024, for the first time, several former workers were officially heard by the French judiciary.
The situation has been difficult for us for so long. We deeply appreciate the French judges' concern for fairness and justice
The investigation is continuing, potentially leading to the case being referred to a trial court, for the company to be tried.
