The current global context determines the development of responsible business practices at companies’ level, as their behavior is more and more judged in relation to matters within the scope of involvement in sustainable development. Under pressure from consumers aware of how to use the resources and the exercise of human rights, the civil society urged French companies take responsibility of their work, including here subsidiaries located abroad. Also, ratings companies have started to integrate tools for assessing economic performance indicators of social responsibility, thus obliging companies, especially multinationals, to make public information of interest in social terms. Our work analyses the development of ways to implement the initiatives, actions and activities in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by French companies, based on surveys and studies published in recent years. We want to highlight the impact of these actions on the performance of French companies, as revealed in the literature. We also intend to identify the key determinants of the behavioral changes of the French companies on social responsibility and highlight the peculiarities of application of CSR policies in French companies compared to other European companies and US companies.