The COVID-19 pandemic is not a case of force majeure justifying the termination of a fixed-term employment contract.

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, a fixed-term employment contract may only be terminated before the end of the term in the event of serious misconduct, force majeure, or incapacity as certified by the occupational physician.

Force majeure exists in contractual matters when an event beyond the debtor's control, which could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time the contract was entered into, and whose effects cannot be avoided by appropriate measures, prevents the debtor from fulfilling its obligation.

This is what the Court of Cassation affirmed in a decision dated October 8, 2025 (24-13.962), published in the Bulletin.

This decision must be approved. [

1) Facts and procedure

P] was hired as a customer credit manager by Sysco France under a fixed-term employment contract from January 20th to December 31st, 2020.

On March 19th, 2020, the employer notified the employee of the termination of the employment contract due to force majeure.

On August 3rd, 2020, the employee filed a claim with the labor court for termination of her employment contract.

The Rouen Court of Appeal ordered the employer to pay the employee certain amounts in wages until the end of the contract and as precariousness compensation.

The employer appealed to the Court of Cassation.

2) Response of the Court

The Court of Appeal dismissed the company's appeal. Pursuant to Articles L 1243-1 of the French Labor Code and L 1218, paragraph 1, of the French Civil Code, the Court of Appeal found that, as a result of the exceptional health situation linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting government decisions, the employer had experienced a significant decline in its activity during the weeks of lockdown, rather than a complete shutdown. The employee, hired as a credit manager for a period expiring on December 31, 2020, had primarily administrative and financial duties, although it had not been established that they had all ceased due to the lockdown measures.

It noted that the incapacity was temporary.

The Court of Appeal added that the government had implemented an exceptional system for deferring tax and social security contributions, supporting the deferral of bank payments, and providing state guarantees to ensure that no one was left without resources and to safeguard jobs.

It specified that the partial unemployment scheme had been massively expanded and opened to employees on fixed-term contracts for increased activity by Decree No. 2020-325 of March 25, 2020, and that while this extension occurred after the termination was notified, it was largely foreseeable given the announcements to this effect made by government authorities prior to the decree.

The Court of Appeal, which was not required to conduct research that its findings rendered ineffective, correctly concluded that the employer could not invoke force majeure to terminate the fixed-term employment contract.

The argument is therefore unfounded.

3) Analysis

The issue of terminating fixed-term contracts due to force majeure was a hot topic in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The employee had been hired as a customer credit manager by Sysco France on a fixed-term contract from January 20 to December 31, 2020.

The company terminated the contract due to force majeure on March 19, 2020, a few days after the lockdown.

The first lockdown began on March 17th, 2020, at 12:00 p.m.

Force majeure exists in contractual matters when an event beyond the debtor's control, which could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time the contract was entered into, and whose effects cannot be avoided by appropriate measures, prevents the debtor from fulfilling its obligation. In determining that force majeure could not be upheld, the Court of Cassation noted that

- Sysco had experienced a significant decline in its activity during the weeks of lockdown and not a complete shutdown,

- the employee, hired as a credit manager for a period expiring on December 31, 2020, had primarily administrative and financial duties, which had not been established to have all ceased due to the lockdown measures.

- the partial unemployment scheme had been massively expanded and made available to employees on fixed-term contracts for increased activity by Decree No. 2020-325 of March 25, 2020, and that while this extension was subsequent to the notification of the termination (dated March 19), it was largely foreseeable given the announcements to this effect made by government authorities.

The Court of Cassation therefore applies force majeure restrictively in this case.

This judgment must be approved.

Source

Cass. soc. 8 oct. 2025, 24-13.962

https://www.courdecassation.fr/decision/68e5fac6a28a47f8aa01639b

 

Frédéric CHHUM avocat et ancien membre du conseil de l’ordre des avocats de Paris (mandat 2019-2021)

CHHUM AVOCATS (Paris, Nantes, Lille)

e-mail: chhum@chhum-avocats.com

www.chhum-avocats.fr

https://www.instagram.com/fredericchhum/?hl=fr

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