FR / Conseil d'État: annulment of the order simplifying the rules for creating water bodies in wetlands

In a decision handed down on 02/03/2026, the Council of State (France's supreme administrative court) annulled the Ministry of Ecological Transition's order of 03/07/2024 on the rules for creating water bodies in wetlands.

This decision comes after several associations, including France Environnement and the French League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), submitted three separate petitions to the Council of State, seeking the annulment of the text, which amended a 2021 decree.

According to the Council of State, "41% of the main wetlands identified were degraded between 2010 and 2020 according to the national assessment carried out by the French public General Commission for Sustainable Development".

To protect these areas, since 2021, the Government has made the creation of these water bodies subject to three cumulative conditions", the Conseil d'État points out:
• that the creation of these water bodies meets a major public interest or involves benefits greater than those associated with the preservation of the environment (health, safety, sustainable development);
• that the…