Yes judgments are being made in the name of the French people, and thus are public (although this does not mean they are publicized on a website, you may have to go to the court to consult them). Decisions regarding the work code can be appealed, and in that case the execution of the sentence is suspended until the second judgment. If they had to pay immediately then it means they didn't appeal. That combined with their refusal to show the actual court decisions is fishy and looks like a spin to make the fired employees look bad and use them as an excuse for Mandriva's demise just coincidentally when they were on the brink of becoming profitable.
Decisions exceeding 4000€ can be appealed but if paiement is due immediately it must mean that the court didn't had any doubts. Being French I completely agree with ajnin, it seems really fishy not to disclose the amount and the details of the decision.