French president Francois Hollande has ruled out exploration for shale gas during his term on office, ending hopes that a ban on hydraulic fracturing could be reviewed following a legal challenge by a US firm.
Many believe tapping France’s potentially large shale gas reserves could revive the ailing French economy. Photo: AP
5:53PM BST 14 Jul 2013
France’s highest court says it will examine the challenge to the ban by Schuepbach Energy, which held two exploration permits that were cancelled when the law was passed in 2011.
But Mr Hollande, whose government includes members of the Green party, said in a Bastille Day interview: “As long as I am president, there will be no exploration for shale gas in France.”
Many believe tapping France’s potentially large shale gas reserves could revive the ailing French economy. But Mr Hollande insisted that the economy was already in recovery.
“The economic recovery is here,” he said, pointing to a slight recovery in consumption and a similar increase in industrial production.
“There are countries at war which are more optimistic than us. How do we understand that? There’s an explanation: because France is not just any country.”
