Local Law in Alsace-Moselle - Some Specific Provisions

Some Specific Provisions

In the area of work and finance, specific provisions have been made in local law for a local social security system, including additional, compulsory insurance and regulations governing remuneration during a short sickness absence. There are differences with French law also in the areas of personal bankruptcy, voluntary associations and in local work law (fr: Code professionnel local). Working is generally prohibited on Sundays and free days. Alsace-Moselle has two more public holidays (Good Friday and 26 December) than the rest of France and there are differences in the status of some crafts and trades, for example, winemakers and brewers.

Communes have to provide aid to resourceless people and they generally have more power than in the rest of France. They manage hunting rights, which are sold by auction for nine years at a time; land owners are not the owners of the game and cannot forbid hunting on their land although the hunters are responsible for game's damage.

During political elections, most election literature is written bilingually in both French and German. The land book (fr: livre foncier) is not held by the tax directorate but by a court service. Other differences include there being fewer pharmacies in Alsace-Moselle than in other régions: 1 for every 3,500 people compared to 1 for every 2,500–3,000 elsewhere. Trains run on the right of the double tracks, as in Germany, whereas in the rest of France they normally run on the left.

Since the end of the 20th century, some of the local laws have been incorporated into general law, especially in the areas of social security, personal bankruptcy and social aid. Some others have been repealed, like the work law and the election literature, which meet now the French general law. However, working on Sundays remains restricted (08.2009).