which yet has many friends among company bosses

There is an atmosphere of uncertainty these days in the high authority against discrimination and for equality (Halde). While its President, Louis Schweitzer, must leave office Monday and submits report annual today ("Les Echos" of February 9, 2009), the name of his successor is not known. Suspense should last a few days yet since promises to be a vacancy for power at the head of the institution. Once designated by the head of State, the future President of the authority must be heard by the committees of the statutes of the two assemblies, as required by the revised Constitution, but Parliament does resumed its work on 22 March. This situation translates it a lack of interest in or une mistrust of political power for the institution It is true that some of the recommendations of the dump, including DNA tests or file Edwige, could annoy the Executive. Moreover, Nicolas Sarkozy, which yet has many friends among company bosses, did never counted among his relatives the former CEO of Renault, man of the left named by Jacques Chirac in 2005 at the head of the dump. Replacement, the name of Malek Boutih, former President of SOS Racism and national Secretary of the PS, runs with increasing insistence. Itself does not hide its interest in the position while he had refused the Commissioner for diversity and equal opportunities.

Position "schizophrenic".

High Authority, regardless of his future boss, has already won its stripes of essential actor in the fight against discrimination. The sharp increase in references since its creation (1,500 in 2005, more than 10,000 year past) proves that its function is now better known and that its communication efforts have borne fruit: the tolerance of discrimination, whatever their nature, decreased in France, even if citizens are not always well their rights. The bet was yet risky initially because Louis Schweitzer has always been reluctant to choose between the two options available to the dump: a preventive action, on the one hand, to help companies in their policy of promotion of the diversity and repressive action, on the other hand, through prosecution and testing operations. This "schizophrenic" position was badly perceived by some companies, which are sometimes felt themselves trapped by the high authority. Was the case of Accor and the Crédit Agricole for example, pinned in June 2008 by a pile testing on their hiring policy, human resources directors have disputed the methodology. A battle of numbers which quite chipped the image of the undertakings in question while leaving a bitter taste to the dump. This type of operation was also never renewed until today, the high authority citing, officially, its high cost.

Over the past year, the "repressive" action, in fact, took more importance in the activity of the dump: the decisions of the College of the institution most often moving towards the courts (see chart), where its recommendations are also followed in 80 of cases. The high authority communicates more regularly on legal sanctions and the benefits obtained by its action. Will this trend continue Everything will depend on the personality and the commitment of its future President.