As recently as September 2010 Ryanair was brought to court in France in a case related to workers on its Marseille base. Ryanair is being accused of fiscal dumping by declaring its workers in Ireland when they actually live and exercise their work from France. The case is centered on the fact that Ryanair’s employees based in France are in an illegal situation. Although European legislation concerning mobile workers states that these are considered to be working in the country of registration of the vessel they work on, a French decree from 2006 regarding cabin crew and pilots working in France superseding European rule states the contrary. Implications regarding that conundrum had been raised as early as the beginning of 2010, at in which point, Ryanair, through its CEO, stated that, were legal proceedings to be engaged, the company would close its Marseille base. Following the beginning of the legal battle, Ryanair put its menace to execution and announced, in October 2010, that it would close its Marseille base and thirteen routes from that base. The company has announced that it would plead against the decree, declared that it was behaving in accordance with European law and would take the case to a European court.This announce has been received in France with mixed feelings and upon declarations by French government officials that contradictions between French and European law were proving a bit costly it remains highly doubtful whether the case will turn out against Ryanair. However, recent evolutions of the case seem to indicate that the airline is now at risk of losing that battle. After a French deputy asked, in an open question to the European parliament, whether Ryanair employee’s situation at Marseille was legal, the deputies answered by stating that airline employees based in a foreign country are not covered by European directive 96/71/CE and should pay social contributions and taxes inthe country they live and work.
As stated by Mayor of Marseille the law was introduced into France to protect Air France.
However the idea that it only happened because of Ryanair is false as Eurocamp / Keycamp and countless other British holiday firms employ Brits on UK contracts to work in France and pay no tax or social contributions in France.
France is looking after Air France nothing more in introducing a law designed solely to protect it, Italy did the same thing with its PSO routes with Easyjet.