L’Oreal Racial Discrimination Case in France results in €60,000 Settlement

Cosmetics giant, L’Oreal, has been embroiled in controversy for the past 3 years in a European court case where the company was charged with racial discrimination for only hiring white women to sell their products at the retail level.

The company whose spokespeople have been notable black celebrities like Beyonce, has just been fined €30,000 by French courts and ordered to pay another €30,000 in damages.

From Essence.com:

French cosmetics giant, L’Oreal, who has hired Beyonce and other African-American personalities to front their products is in hot water. It’s ok for us to peddle their products but not ok for us to work behind the scenes. The highest court in France determined that executives at Garnier, L’Oreal’s beauty products division, intentionally created an all-White sales teams to promote their shampoos throughout the country, according to TimesOnline.com. Blacks, Asian and Middle Eastern women were hardly ever considered for hostess positions.

In fact, a fax was issued into evidence that requested hostesses must be between 18-22 years old, wear a European size 38-42 and be BBR. Apparently, BBR stands for “bleu, blanc, rouge” or French for “blue, white, red” the colors of their French flag which is also code for white people. This ends a three-year legal battle for the L’Oreal bosses who apparently were “disappointed” by the court’s decision. They will now have to pay 30,000 Euros in fines and another 30,000 in damages.