the State condemned to pay 10 million euros for not having sufficiently fought against air pollution

The money collected will go to NGOs and public or associative organizations involved in particular in public health and environmental issues.

And four. The State was again condemned, Friday November 24, for not having sufficiently fought against 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 metropolises.

The Council of State thus condemns “the State to pay two fines of five million euros for the two semesters from July 2022 to July 2023, by dividing by two the amount of the fine imposed per semester”, in relation to previous convictions, indicates the highest administrative court.

Money redistributed to associations

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 progress “notable” but also the persistence of certain excesses, while 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 Council of State notes today that the pollution threshold for fine particles is no longer exceeded in any urban area”he observed on Friday. “Regarding the nitrogen dioxide thresholds, these are now respected in the urban areas of Toulouse and Aix-Marseille, but remain significantly exceeded in those of Paris and Lyon, where the measures already taken or to come will not allow us to fall below the limit thresholds in the shortest possible time frame”, he notes, however.

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).