Update: On 20 February the Bill was passed by a large majority of MPs and became law. Read more in our news story here and from French campaign group Générations Futures here.
Sandra Bell of CHEM Trust said:
“This ban on PFAS in products like clothing and cosmetics is great news for French citizens worried about their exposure to these harmful chemicals. The not so good news is that some key products like cookware were exempted. Now France needs to get firmly behind an EU wide restriction on PFAS ensuring more products are included and citizens of all member states are protected”.
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Today the French National Assembly’s Sustainable Development, Spatial and Regional Planning Committee supported a Bill that would ban PFAS chemicals in consumer products such as clothing and cosmetics in France. The Bill will now be voted on in plenary on 20th February.
Exposure to these ‘forever chemicals’ has been linked to a range of health impacts, including developmental issues and immune system disruption.
If the Bill becomes law, it will be an important step in protecting the health of French citizens and the environment from the potential impacts of these toxic chemicals. It will also send a clear signal to the European Commission about the urgency of the issue. The process for an EU-wide restriction on PFAS continues but is proposed not to come in much before 2030.
What’s in the Bill?
The Bill proposed by Nicolas Thierry (French MP of the Groupe Ecologiste et Social) and supported by over 20 MPs, was voted through at its first stage in April 2024. The Bill (in French) includes a ban on all PFAS in clothing for the general public, cosmetics, and ski waxes by 2026 and for all textiles by 2030. It originally included cookware but an exemption was granted due to the strong industry lobby in France.
The proposal also adds PFAS to the list of substances monitored in drinking water in France and introduces a fee on companies releasing PFAS into the environment of 100 euros per 100 kg of PFAS emitted.
Is there support for the ban in France?
French citizens have demonstrated support for action on PFAS. Campaign group Générations Futures gained the support of over 100,000 citizens who called on their politicians to back the ban.
Proposed bans on PFAS and other chemicals face strong opposition from industries with a vested interest in avoiding regulation. A clear example of this is the intense lobbying by cookware manufacturers in France (including the SEB Group, which owns Tefal) pushing for exemptions. There are French companies such as Cosmébio organic cosmetics already offering PFAS free products – this is welcome, but the ban is needed to ensure that all citizens can buy products without having to check whether they contain PFAS.
Yoann Coulmont at Générations Futures said,
“We have been fighting for over a year for the bill to pass. We are not expecting the EU restriction on PFAS to be agreed until 2030. Due to the high persistence of PFAS, and the growing evidence of harm to our health there should be no delay in banning PFAS.”
Clean up of existing PFAS pollution and support for alternatives also needed
Support for the French ban is likely to be highest in PFAS pollution ‘hotspots’, including the area near Lyon known as ‘Chemical Valley’. Here, the Arkema chemical group is responsible for major PFAS discharges, and the company has been subject to legal challenges from the community. While it is vital that sources of pollution are stopped via bans on the use of PFAS, national governments also need to improve monitoring and clean-up of existing PFAS pollution and ensure that the polluters pay for this. The proposal for more PFAS monitoring and a tax on polluting industries in France is therefore also welcome.
In addition to the measures set out in the Bill France must also support companies to develop safer alternatives to PFAS – a resilient economy cannot be based on products that are harmful to our health or the environment.
PFAS national action across the EU
France wouldn’t be the first EU country to introduce a partial ban on PFAS. Denmark has already banned PFAS in paper and cardboard food packaging and is banning the sale and import of consumer clothing, footwear and waterproofing products containing PFAS from July 2026. Denmark also has a PFAS National Action Plan which, having gained cross party agreement in 2024 sets out its commitment to improve monitoring and clean-up of PFAS and work with companies to find alternatives.
There are active campaigns for bans in other countries. In the Netherlands, Member of Parliament Geert Gabriëls has proposed a national ban on PFAS emissions as a first step towards a ban on the production of PFAS. A debate in the Netherlands House of Representatives is expected soon. The ban is backed by Dutch NGO Tegengif as well as by communities affected by pollution from the Chemours plant. In Belgium, Bond Beter Leefmilieu is calling for a national substitution and phase out of PFAS and for the Belgian government to support the EU PFAS restriction.
EU PFAS Restriction must be the ultimate aim
While we welcome action from Member States like France and Denmark, national action is not a substitution for action at the EU level.
The proposed EU universal PFAS restriction will help ensure that citizens and the environment are protected across the whole EU area as well as providing a level playing field for industry. It will also ban these toxic chemicals from a wider range of uses, and prompt innovation for safer alternatives in products from frying pans to heat pumps.
Denmark and France state their support for the EU restriction in their Action Plans but should go beyond this to proactively support the restriction and resist further exemptions, especially in the face of strong industry lobbying. In January, the extent of the lobbying to weaken PFAS restrictions was exposed by the Forever Lobbying project and Corporate Europe Observatory.
Amelia Womack, Senior Campaigner at CHEM Trust said,
“A French ban on toxic PFAS chemicals would be great news for French citizens. As well as leading by example, France should also proactively support the proposed universal restriction on PFAS at the EU level. The Commission and Member States must act in the interests of their citizens’ health and a clean environment over and above the lobbying of vested interests.”
More information on CHEM Trust’s position on PFAS can be found here
