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On February 20, 2025, during the second reading in the Assemblée Nationale, France has passed the Bill to protect the population from the risks associated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
France is now leading EU in preventing the pollution crisis caused by these so called "forever substances". Despite strong opposition from the far-right Rassemblement National and the conservative Union des Droites pour la République, Assemblée Nationale managed to pass this ambitious law, joining Denmark as the second country in EU in enacting its own legislation on PFAS.
Meanwhile, Europe is on track to develop an initiative which will result in a broad PFAS restriction. However, this initiative is conditioned on a long decision-making process and could succeed, in the most favorable scenario, by 2027-2028.
PFAS in consumer products
As per the Bill, from January 1, 2026, the manufacture, import, export and placing on the market, free of charge or for a fee, of the following products containing PFAS shall be prohibited:
Any cosmetic product containing PFAS;
Any wax product containing PFAS;
Any textile clothing product, any footwear and waterproofing agents for textile clothing product containing PFAS, with the exception of protective clothing for security and civil safety professionals.
This ban shall extend to all textile product containing PFAS from January 1, 2030, with the exception of essential uses which contribute to exercise of national sovereignty.
The PFAS ban will exempt products containing residual level of PFAS. The exact threshold limit is yet to be determined in the implementation decree.
PFAS discharges in water
In addition, the bill also applies the Polluters Pay Principle by introducing an additional environmental tax of 100 euros per 100 grams to the releases of PFAS into the natural environment directly or through a collection network. The threshold for collecting the fee is 100 grams.
France also sets up a reduction plan to phase out the discharge of PFAS in water within five years from the promulgation of this Law.
The provisional adopted text can be accessed here.
Read more about PFAS Regulation in EU here.
