April 03, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

PARIS, April 2: A French court on Wednesday found carmaker Renault guilty of discriminating against two black employees who had argued that they were denied promotions because of their race.

The Versailles appeals tribunal outside Paris overturned a lower court ruling in favour of Renault and ordered the carmaker to pay damages to Lucien Breleur, born in Martinique, and Daniel Kotor, from Togo.

“The Renault company must repair the prejudice it caused to Mr Kotor and Mr Breleur for blocking their career paths and maintaining their salaries at a lower level than what they should have been,” said the court in a ruling.

Breleur, who worked at Renault as an automobile electrician from 1971 to 2003, was awarded 80,000 euros in damages and interest and 8,000 euros for moral harm.

Renault was ordered to pay Kotor, a labourer and administrative clerk from 1983 to 2004, 60,000 euros in damages and interests and 8,000 euros for causing moral harm.

“It is the first time that the courts, which are usually very reluctant to rule in this area, recognise Renault guilty of racial discrimination,” said lawyer Florence Laussucq-Caston, who represented the two ex-employees.

Renault was cleared of any wrongdoing in the case of another worker and three other ex-employees.

The six plaintiffs, of African and Arab origin, were seeking one million euros in damages from Renault for discrimination.

The court found that Renault had not provided proof that the difference in treatment accorded to Breleur and Kotor compared to other employees was based on factors other than race.

“Renault had to prove that these two employees who had good performance reviews, were motivated and good team players, were not hindered in their career because of their origin,” said Laussucq-Caston.

“In the absence of proof, Renault was implicitly found guilty of racial discrimination,” she said.

An assessment of the career paths of 10 Renault employees found that other workers benefited from more promotions and opportunities than Breleur and Kotor, the court found.—AFP