Three associations and six individuals exposed to "perennial pollutants" or PFAS want to force the State to act against the contamination of the environment and the human body by these chemical molecules, accusing it of " deficiencies "in this matter. On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, they filed a lawsuit to compel him to act against the contamination of the environment and the human body by these chemical molecules, accusing him of " deficiencies "In this matter, we learned Thursday from the applicants.
Condemning the State to " "Take action to stop pollution"
“ Our associations – Future GenerationsOur Common Cause and Bloom – and six victims living in hotspots (accumulation point, editor's note) pollution from PFAS, (…) have filed a case with the Paris Administrative Court seeking to compel the State to take action to stop the pollution and to organize the coverage of environmental and health costs" announced the authors of this referral in a statement.
A multifaceted pollution from PFAS
Virtually indestructible, the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, used extensively in the chemical industry, accumulate over time in the air, the soil, river waters, food, and even the human body, hence their nickname. Some have harmful effects on health.
Read alsoPFAS: French research is organizing against the persistence of "perennial pollutants"
“ Fix " the harm of anxiety
Through this legal action, the associations indicate that they are asking the State to " to stop the release of PFAS into the environment", to enable the depollution, particularly of water intended for human consumption, and to fix » the anxiety-related harm resulting from exposure to PFAS of individuals who joined this procedure.
In this capacity, they are asking the court to condemn the State to the " payment of damages in the amount of 10,000 euros "each and to" to repair the moral damage "of these individuals from Haut-Rhin and Haute-Savoie, by the payment of damages amounting to 1,000 euros for each, according to the request consulted by AFP, filed on Wednesday and on which the court has yet to decide what action to take." For us, there is a double deficiency, past due to a lack of action and present due to insufficient action." François Veillerette, spokesman for Générations Futures, told AFP.
A law that is slow to be implemented
In conducting their research, the applicants found parliamentary reports dating back to 2008 stating that risks associated with PFAS and the contamination of the national territory" . " Analysis of the French government's handling of PFAS pollution reveals culpable shortcomings in its obligations, which have directly caused harm justifying the claims filed by associations and victims.", summarizes the request. Its authors first sent a preliminary compensation claim on March 23 to the Minister for the Environment and on March 27 to the Prime Minister and, " in the absence of an explicit response", decided to take the matter to court, according to the document.
While the government has commissioned several reports, notably in 2022 and in 2023, the first law aimed at protecting the population from PFAS was born from a Bill introduced in February 2024 “ by Green Party MP Nicolas Thierry", the associations point out, criticizing the government for having supported this text as a last resort.
24% of French adolescents present concentrations of PFAS
However, due to environmental pollution caused by these molecules, which are ubiquitous in everyday objects (cosmetics, pans(packaging, clothing), the French are " contaminated in a particularly marked way compared to other countries, especially European ones", the associations point out. They mention a report published in October 2025 by the High Commission for Planning on public environmental health policies, which highlights that 24% of French adolescents have PFAS concentrations in their blood serum exceeding the recommendations of the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), compared to 18% in Germany or 1% in Spain, for example.
The application of the polluter-pays principle has been postponed.
As for the actions taken by the State, they remain insufficient for the associations, which criticize the government for also delaying the implementation of the PFAS law. More than a year after the promulgation of this legislation, one of its most anticipated provisions—a levy targeting industries whose factories discharge "perpetual pollutants" into the water—has still not been implemented. In the spring, the government decided to postpone the publication of the implementing decrees for this measure, which could potentially generate tax revenue for water pollution, has been delayed by an additional six months.
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