French Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation), No. 11-28.845, 19 March 2013

Legitimacy of an internal regulation of a (private) nursery which provides for the restriction of the exercise of religious freedom of its employees.

Art. 1 of the French Constitution

L. 1121-1, L. 1133-1, L. 1321-3 French Labor Code

Art. 9 ECHR

The principle of secularism established by art. 1 of the (French) Constitution is not applicable to private sector employees who do not manage a public service, moreover, this principle cannot be invoked to deprive them of the protection provided by the provisions of the Labor Code. In fact, from the articles L. 1121-1, L. 1132-1, L. 1133-1 and L. 1321-3 of the Labor Code, it appears that restrictions on religious freedom must be justified by the nature of the job and therefore (such restrictions) must satisfy a essential professional requirement and proportionate to the objective to be achieved. It follows that the restrictions provided by the internal regulations of a (private) nursery school are to be considered legitimate given the nature of the work that employees are required to carry out.