I reported previously here on Cleantechies that in 2011 France was the first country to ban hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of recovering oil and natural gas deposits using large quantities of water and chemicals and sand.
Fracking, as it is more widely known, is fiercely opposed by most liberals and conservatives alike in the country.
As I noted in a recent article, a poll issued earlier this year shows that most French people and business leaders believe that hydraulic fracturing is not compatible with the energy transition.
On October 11th the French Constitutional Court, the highest in the country, decided that the 2011 law that banned the method was conform to the National Constitution.
As Catherine Banet, a French lawyer specialized in environmental law noted on her blog,” (t)he law also repealed the research permits granted when such permits intended to use hydraulic fracturing.”
A US company, Schuepbach Energy LLC, based in Dallas, Texas, had seized the Constitutional Court , claiming that the law violated its rights. Their arguments were rejected.
To learn more about this ruling, you can check out the official press release from the French Constitutional Court. (in French only)
While also drilling in the ground, tapping into geothermal resources is not banned and exploiting those safe and renewable energy sources is permitted. Nor does it prevent from working or researching on environmentally safer means to retrieve shale oil or gas.
Other nations in the European Union such as Bulgaria and Germany have banned fracking. Many more countries in the region and around the world are considering forbidding the technique.
Such a fierce opposition can be explained by many reasons, seven of which I have outlined in a previous article.
Text translation : ” shale gas, no thanks ! “
