As Goes France . . .

The Associated Press reports that in France a government-appointed panel has begun preparing the new class action law. One early debate is over whether France should adopt an “opt-out” or “opt-in” system for potential class members.

Quote of note: “Eventually, experts say, the moves afoot in Britain, Sweden and France could lead to a European Union-wide class-action law – since governments generally prefer their neighbors’ industries to be exposed to the same kinds of risk as their own. ‘It’s not for tomorrow, but if it gets off the ground in France, and since we already have it in Sweden, then maybe we’ll see something at a European level,’ said Peter Burbidge, a law professor at Britain’s Westminster University. ‘The French would want others to have it if they have it.'”