A conviction for inaction. The State was again sanctioned on Friday for not having sufficiently combated air pollution by the Council of State, which points to significant exceedances of certain standards in Paris and Lyon but also notes improvements in other areas. other metropolises.
The Council of State thus condemns “the State to pay two fines of five million euros for the two semesters going from July 2022 to July 2023, by dividing by two the amount of the fine imposed per semester”, by in relation to previous convictions, indicates the highest administrative court.
The State already condemned in 2021 and 2022
This decision is unsurprising insofar as it follows the conclusions of the public rapporteur, who had called for such a reduced penalty on November 8, taking note of both “notable” progress but also the persistence of certain excesses, while the Air pollution promotes diseases such as asthma, cardiovascular problems or lung cancer.
For air pollution, a first decision dates back to July 2017. The Council of State then ordered the State to implement plans to reduce the levels of fine particles PM10 or nitrogen dioxide (NO2 , particularly associated with road traffic) in thirteen zones. The State has since been ordered in 2021 and then in 2022 to pay a total of 30 million euros, corresponding to three semesters, for not having sufficiently strengthened its system against pollution.
The 10 million euros will go to the applicant NGO, Friends of the Earth (for 10,000 euros) and above all to a group of public or associative organizations involved in particular in public health and environmental issues (Ademe, Cerema, Anses, Ineris, Airparif, Atmo).