Emmanuel Macron portrait smashed by protestors in Poitiers
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The Council of State slapped its biggest-ever fine on his government, with the court warning it would punish them again within months if enough is not done to combat smog. “The measures undertaken by the government are insufficient to deem that the court’s ruling of 2017 has been fully carried out,” it said in a statement. The Council has become increasingly watchful over Paris’ environmental record of late.
Announcing its decision, it said measures adopted by the government were insufficient to improve air quality.
This was because some might not actually be implemented, and their likely effects had not been properly evaluated.
Last year, the Council ruled that the Government had failed to implement a court order dating back to 2017 to reduce pollution levels.
It gave Mr Macron six months to take action or face a £8.5-million fine every six months until air quality improves.
Air pollution is believed to cause 40,000 premature deaths in France every year.
And in the EU, the figure is around 400,000 deaths per year.
The Council ruled that not enough had been done in urban areas, such as Paris and Lyon, to tackle the poor air quality.
It said that pollution, caused mainly by cars, was also too excessive in Marseille, Toulous and Grenoble.
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It singled out Paris for persistently high levels of PM10 micro particle pollution.
The court warned it will examine pollution levels again at the start of 2022 before deciding whether to impose further fines.
The penalty could come in “above or below” the latest one, depending on the outcome of their observations.
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Mr Macron’s government argued that it had implemented further measures since July last year to tackle dirty air in cities.
These include additional low emission zones, incentives to buy electric or hybrid cars and a phasing out of oil-burning boilers.
The Council has decided to hand over the huge windfall from the fine to agencies set up to fight air pollution.
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Friends of the Earth, the NGO that launched legal action against the government, will get £85,000, the judge said.
Greanpeace in France celebrated the record fine for the flouting of air quality standards.
In a separate case, the Council has threatened to slap another fine on the French state if it failed to demonstrate it was enacting policies that make attainable a target of reducing greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2030.
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