On Thursday, France’s Parliament is set to definitively approve an environmental bill restricting the manufacture and sale of products containing perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS), a “ground-breaking” new piece of legislation for the European Union. PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’, are ubiquitous in everyday life, and their impact on health is a concern for the general public and the authorities.
A demonstration calling for a PFAS ban held on May 26, 2024 in Oullins, France – JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP/Archives
The bill, which was approved in a first round at the National Assembly (the French parliament), and then redrafted by the Senate in May, should be approved as passed in the Senate, therefore coming into force.
The bill is top of the list in the so-called ‘ecologist slot’ — the day dedicated to the parliamentary activity regarding social and environmental legislation.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, France’s Minister for ecological transition, introduced the debate by stating she supports the bill, while calling for a nuanced discussion, urging Parliament to “keep science firmly in mind” and “avoid generalised hostility to PFAS.”
“There are thousands of PFAS. Some are well-known, others less so. Some are dangerous, others are considered low-impact,” she said.
PFAS are virtually indestructible and are present in scores of objects and products. They accumulate over time in the air, soil, water, food and, ultimately, in the human body, especially in the blood and kidney and liver tissues.
Although knowledge of the health risks associated with the various types of PFAS is insufficient or in some cases absent, also according to the health authorities, several forever chemicals are said to cause adverse effects on the human metabolism.
The bill’s key article proposes to prohibit from January 1 2026 the production, import and sale of cosmetics, wax product (for skis) and clothes containing PFAS, with the exception of some industrial textiles or textiles that are “needed for essential use.”
The bill also includes a provision for taxing manufacturers whose activities result in PFAS discharge, following a ‘polluter pays’ principle.
Although the bill’s initial scope has been reduced – notably by excluding kitchen utensils from the proposed ban – rapporteur Nicolas Thierry (MP for Les Ecologistes party) claimed at the session that the bill is “a first response” that will make France “one of the best-equipped countries for protecting its population from the risks linked to forever chemicals.”
MP Cyrille Isaac-Sibille (of the MoDem party), author of a report on the subject a year ago, described the bill as a “foundation stone” in the fight against PFAS, one that will broadcast “a message to Europe saying that France is ready and that swift thinking is needed.”
“Markers”
Once the bill will have passed, MPs will turn to more divisive legislation, the “markers” that will allow ecologist politicians to “plant in the [political] landscape” the “elements of their future programme” for the next elections, said MP Pouria Amirshahi.
The debate is expected to turn lively in the case of the proposed ‘Zucman tax’, a flat 2% tax on the assets of the “ultra rich,” individuals with assets worth over €100 million.
The bill is the brainchild of economist Gabriel Zucman, who defended it on Sunday in a forum with other politicians, trade union members and citizens on French newspaper Le Monde, calling it a “common-sense measure” while noting that “billionaires pay almost no income tax.”
The governmental coalition opposed the bill in a parliamentary committee last week. “France is neither a tax haven nor an island,” and “we would be … the first country to implement this kind of taxation,” while France is already “the most highly taxed country,” argued Mathieu Lefèvre, speaking for Macron‘s party.
The other five bills proposed by the environmentalists aim to establish on an experimental basis “food security for all,” to “sustainably protect the quality of drinking water,” to “facilitate labour market access for asylum seekers,” to “prevent stock market-prompted redundancies,” and to guarantee daytime working hours for cleaners.
All of the bills were adopted at committee level, which does not automatically mean they will be passed by parliament. It is unlikely that all of them will be examined, as MPs will have to conclude their work at midnight, as provided by these parliamentary ‘slots’.
