What are they? Why do they apply? Before acting on safety culture, you need to understand the foundations it rests on.
In 2024,
1,297 people died as a result of their work.
The GPP have existed for decades. What makes the difference is understanding them — and living by them.
Where do the GPP come from?
In France, occupational risk prevention has developed gradually since the 19th century. But it was in 1991 that a major turning point occurred: the transposition into French law of European Directive 89/391/EEC, known as the Framework Directive on the safety and health of workers at work.
Adopted by the European Community in 1989, this directive marked a paradigm shift. It no longer simply set exposure thresholds or technical standards. It imposed on employers a general obligation to organise prevention according to consistent principles, applicable to all work situations, across all sectors.
Transposed into French law by the Act of 31 December 1991, these principles were codified in Article L4121-2 of the French Labour Code. Nine in total. They are known as the General Principles of Prevention — or, more commonly, the GPP.
The legal framework at a glance Art. L4121-1: The employer takes the necessary measures to protect the physical and mental health of workers. This is a results-based obligation. Art. L4121-2: These measures are based on the 9 General Principles of Prevention. This is the action framework. Art. L4122-1: Every worker has an obligation to take care of their own health and that of others. Safety is a shared responsibility. |
Why the GPP? What is their philosophy?
Before 1991, workplace prevention was essentially reactive: organisations sought to avoid a repeat of accidents that had already occurred. Protections were added, instructions written, training provided after the fact.
The nine General Principles of Prevention introduce a different logic: prevention must be planned upstream, in an organised way, seeking first to eliminate the hazard rather than manage it. It is no longer the symptom that is treated, but the cause.
This philosophy rests on a simple conviction: a workplace accident is almost never the result of chance. It is the outcome of decisions made well before the incident. The design of a workstation, the choice of a product, the induction of a new employee: these are all moments where action can be taken — or not.
“Safety is not a component of a business. It is a principle to be embedded within its organisational culture as a defining element of its identity.” — C2D Prévention |
What are they in practice? The 9 GPP explained
These nine principles are ordered according to a logic of decreasing effectiveness: the first are the most powerful because they do not depend on human behaviour. The last are necessary, but more fragile — they rely on people making the right choices, at the right time.
# | Principle | Description |
1 | Avoid risks | The best protection against a hazard is for it not to exist. Before any other measure, the first question to ask is: can we do things differently? Changing a process, removing a dangerous task, reviewing an organisation: anything that eliminates risk at the root is worth more than any corrective measure. |
2 | Evaluate unavoidable risks | When a risk cannot be eliminated, it must be precisely understood: its nature, severity, and the people exposed. This assessment is formalised in the DUERP (Single Document for the Assessment of Occupational Risks), mandatory for all companies from the first employee. Without rigorous assessment, all prevention action rests on assumptions. |
3 | Combat risks at source | As soon as a workspace, workstation, piece of equipment or procedure is being designed, prevention must already be integrated. Modifying a workstation after it has been commissioned costs on average five times more than designing it correctly from the outset — and provides less protection. |
4 | Adapt work to people | Work must adapt to people, not the other way around. This concerns workstation heights, load weights, pace, and mental workload. Musculoskeletal disorders account for nearly 90% of recognised occupational diseases in France — a sign that this principle remains insufficiently applied. |
5 | Keep pace with technical progress | Prevention cannot remain fixed in yesterday’s practices. Companies are obliged to keep up with available advances. In 2026, exoskeletons, connected sensors and virtual reality for training offer concrete opportunities that many have yet to seize. |
6 | Replace dangerous with less dangerous | As soon as a less risky alternative delivers the same result, substitution is required. This principle applies to chemicals, machinery, building materials and industrial processes. It is not an ideal — it is a legal obligation whenever substitution is technically possible. |
7 | Plan prevention | Prevention is not a collection of one-off measures. It must be part of a coherent approach, structured over time, integrating physical, organisational and psychosocial risks into an overall strategy managed in the long term. |
8 | Prioritise collective over individual protection | A guardrail protects everyone, in all circumstances. Personal protective equipment (PPE) only protects the person wearing it — and only if worn correctly. Collective protection takes priority because it does not depend on human behaviour. |
9 | Give appropriate instructions to workers | Train, inform, support — and repeat with every change of role or context. 2024 data is clear: more than one in five fatal accidents occurs during the first year in a role. An employee who understands the reason behind the rules is infinitely better protected than one who follows them without understanding. |
The hierarchy to remember: act as early as possible
These nine principles form an effectiveness pyramid. The earlier action is taken — eliminating or reducing risk before it reaches the worker — the stronger and more durable the protection. The more action is limited to downstream measures, the more it relies on human vigilance, which is by nature variable and imperfect.
ELIMINATION | GPP 1 — Eliminate or combat risk at source. Maximum protection, independent of behaviour. |
REDUCTION | GPP 2–7 — Adapt, substitute, innovate, plan. Reduce exposure to residual risk. |
PROTECTION | GPP 8–9 — Protect collectively and train individually. Necessary, but behaviour-dependent. |
In practice, many organisations start at the bottom of this pyramid: safety posters, PPE, instructions. This is necessary — but insufficient if the higher levels are not addressed. True prevention always starts with the same question: can this risk be eliminated rather than managed?
Key takeaways
- The GPP stem from European Directive 89/391/EEC, transposed into French law in 1991.
- They are codified in Article L4121-2 of the French Labour Code and apply to all companies from the first employee.
- Their philosophy: act upstream rather than after the fact, eliminate risk rather than manage it.
- They follow a hierarchy of effectiveness: elimination > reduction > protection.
- They are not an end in themselves — they are the foundation on which a genuine safety culture is built.
Where do you stand on these 9 principles?
C2D Prévention supports you from initial assessment to the lasting anchoring of safety behaviours — in France and internationally, with Qualiopi-certified approaches.
→ Request an assessment: www.c2dprevention.com/contact
FAQ
Where do the GPP in occupational health and safety come from?
They stem from European Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989, transposed into French law by the Act of 31 December 1991. They are codified in Article L4121-2 of the French Labour Code under the name General Principles of Prevention.
Are these principles mandatory for all companies?
Yes, without exception. They apply to all companies from the first employee, regardless of sector. Non-compliance exposes the employer to civil and criminal liability, and may be classified as inexcusable fault in the event of an accident.
What is the difference between collective protection and PPE?
Collective protection protects all workers, regardless of their behaviour. PPE only protects the person wearing it — and only if worn correctly. The 8th principle requires that collective protection always be prioritised.
Is the DUERP really mandatory for micro-businesses?
Yes, from the first employee (Art. R4121-1 of the French Labour Code). It must be updated annually for companies with 11 or more employees, and after any significant change.
Sources
Conseil de l’Union européenne. (1989, 12 juin). Directive 89/391/CEE du Conseil concernant la mise en œuvre de mesures visant à promouvoir l’amélioration de la sécurité et de la santé des travailleurs au travail. Journal officiel des Communautés européennes. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31989L0391
Légifrance. (s. d.). Article L4121-1 du Code du travail. Legifrance.gouv.fr. Consulté le 19 mai 2026, à l’adresse https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000006902447
Légifrance. (s. d.). Article L4121-2 du Code du travail. Legifrance.gouv.fr. Consulté le 19 mai 2026, à l’adresse https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000031087804
Institut national de recherche et de sécurité (INRS). (s. d.). Principes généraux de prévention. INRS.fr. Consulté le 19 mai 2026, à l’adresse https://www.inrs.fr/demarche/principes-generaux-prevention/what-is-it.html
Assurance Maladie – Risques professionnels. (2025, novembre). Rapport annuel de l’Assurance Maladie sur les accidents du travail et maladies professionnelles (AT/MP) – données 2024. Ameli.fr. https://assurance-maladie.ameli.fr/qui-sommes-nous/publications-reference/rapports-annuels/rapport-annuel-2024-accidents-du-travail-maladies-professionnelles