French court rejects appeal in Eurodisney discrimination suit

PARIS: A Paris court on Friday rejected an appeal against a ruling which cleared Eurodisney of attempted discrimination in a job advert dating from 2006, a case filed by anti-racism groups. The trial was triggered by ads in the commuter paper 20 Minutes seeking applicants for “cast members” which stipulated they had to be “of European nationality” — an illegal requirement under French law. The amusement park attributed the wording to “human error” by one of its employees. Adverts for the same positions placed at job centres and on its official website did not use the same wording. Eurodisney was cleared of any intent to discriminate in 2016, a decision which anti-racism advocates appealed. But on Friday the Paris appeals court determined the appeal was not valid, citing questions concerning the validity of the statutes of the association which brought the case. With around 15 million visitors per year, Disneyland Paris is one of the most popular private tourist destinations in Europe. It says it employs people of around 100 nationalities speaking 20 languages, and won a “Diversity Label” status from the French government in 2008 for its efforts to build a mixed workforce. The park, to the east of the capital, is also one of the largest private employers in the Paris region. Samuel Thomas, now with anti-discrimination group Maison des Potes, who made the initial complaint as well as the appeal, said he would take the case to France’s top appeals court, the Cour de Cassation.