The European Commission announced on Friday 30 October that it has decided to refer France to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to fulfil its obligation to protect citizens from poor air quality.
Since 2005, EU Member States have been required to comply with daily limit values for PM10 particles in the air.
When these levels are exceeded, they are then required under the European Air Quality Directive (2008/50) to adopt air quality plans with appropriate measures to ensure that the duration of the exceedance period is as short as possible.
However, the data provided by France show that the PM10 limit values in the Paris and Martinique zones have been systematically exceeded for twelve and fourteen years respectively, thus violating EU rules.
This is the second referral to the CJEU for France’s failure to comply with EU air quality standards. In the first case, the Court condemned France on 24 October 2019 for systematically and persistently exceeding the limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (see EUROPE 12356/22). (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)