Manon Desbat

Please tell us about your research project.
I am a PhD candidate in Private Law at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, under the supervision of Professor François-Guy Trébulle. My thesis is entitled “La durabilité de l'entreprise” and explores the emergence of this new legal concept within European and French law.
In the context of the European Green Deal and the Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, the EU has adopted — and continues to adopt — legal instruments that refer to “sustainability,” and more specifically to the “corporate sustainability”. However, this notion remains undefined in legal terms. My research aims to clarify the meaning of “Corporate Sustainability”, assess its legal weight, and examine its potential to transform the law applicable to companies in line with sustainability goals.
Across various legal systems, independent yet converging academic approaches are currently rethinking the law applicable to companies (corporate law, financial law, competition law, labour law, ....) through the lens of sustainability — in France, the United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, the United States, and Belgium, among others. This international intellectual momentum is significant: it reflects a shared recognition of the need to conceptualise and define corporate sustainability as an emerging legal standard.
The United Kingdom is often viewed as a pioneer in this field, notably with Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, which redefines corporate governance by requiring directors to consider broader stakeholder interests beyond those of shareholders alone. This makes British legal scholarship particularly relevant to my research, and my time at the MFO offers a valuable opportunity to engage with UK-based academics and explore these developments more deeply.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
I applied for and was awarded the "Bourse du Mois," a short-term research grant offered by the Maison Française d’Oxford. This opportunity allows me to conduct research in a rich academic environment, engage with international scholars, and further develop the comparative dimension of my work.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?
Oxford is a beautiful and very pleasant place to live. It’s a human-scale city with easy access to nature, and it offers a vibrant academic life. The University libraries are open for extended hours, which is ideal for researchers. The Maison Française d’Oxford provides an excellent working environment, with its own library and a community of scholars. I have also had the opportunity to present my research at the MFO’s doctoral seminars, which was a valuable and enriching experience."