Pesticides in water: France environnement appeals to the French government

France Environnement has lodged an appeal with the Paris Administrative Court against the French government for failing to protect water catchments from pesticides, Jean-François Julliard, CEO of the NGO, announced on Linkedin on 23/04/2026.

Water catchments are structures "from which raw water intended for human consumption is drawn after treatment. There are around 37,000 of them in France, and since the 1980s, more than 2,000 have had to be closed because of excessive levels of pesticides or nitrates", he adds.

However, "government responses are lacking, despite a European and domestic legal framework that already exists and is operational", adds Pia Savart, a legal expert at France Environnement.

This appeal, also brought by the Association Citoyenne et Laïque de Consommateurs, aims to:
• " establish that the State has been at fault
• obtain an injunction to implement effective measures to protect the water catchments;
• seek compensation for the ecological damage resulting from harm to the benefits that humans derive from the environment".

"This new environmental litigation is a…