Positive action faced with the principle of equal treatment under European Union law ; L'action positive face au principe de l'égalité de traitement en droit de l'Union européenne
This thesis studies the derogatory status of positive action under European Union law, from the principle of equal treatment. Although the principle of equal treatment means that there shall be no discrimination on several prohibited grounds, numerous derogatory and specific regimes, meant to prevent application of this principle, can be found in the secondary legislation implementing it in the member States. Among these various regimes, positive action allows the adoption of preferential treatments for discriminated categories in society, to compensate for the disadvantages they encounter, especially in the labor market. Its legitimacy is founded in the notion of equal opportunities, which competes with the objective of equal treatment by preventing differentiation in norms. Positive action is thus the only derogation from equality justified by equality. This peculiar situation creates a lot of inconsistencies about its meaning, scope, and use, in the European Union legal system and others. This thesis suggests some ways to overcome the derogatory perspective of positive action which restricts its development, while underlining how it represents a useful tool to combat discriminations, favouring integration into internal market on equalized conditions. It also invites to go beyond controversial approaches of a misunderstood and often distorted notion in France. ; Cette thèse analyse la dérogation que constitue l'action positive par rapport au principe de l'égalité de traitement, en droit de l'Union européenne. Défini comme une interdiction de discriminer sur le fondement d'un certain nombre de motifs, le principe d'égalité a pourtant vu se multiplier les régimes destinés à écarter son application, dans le droit dérivé qui assure sa mise en œuvre dans les États membres. Parmi ces différents régimes, l'action positive peut permettre l'adoption de traitements référentiels, entre autres mesures, pour les catégories discriminées de la société, afin de remédier aux désavantages qu'elles connaissent, notamment sur le ...