On February 27, 2025, France adopted its first law aimed at protecting the population against the risks associated with PFAS.
Thus, since January 1, 2026, PFAS have been banned in France in certain products (clothing and footwear textiles, ski wax, cosmetics). The PFAS ban will be extended in 2030 to all textiles (furniture, automotive, etc.).
The analysis of 20 PFAS in drinking water is now also mandatory in France: the European directive provides for a maximum of 100 nanograms per liter of tap water and 200 ng for raw water, before treatment for the sum of the concentrations of 20 PFAS, the standard adopted by France.
Finally, in accordance with the polluter-pays principle, this law notably established a levy based on PFAS discharges into water, payable by the industries responsible for the pollution. Adopted by an overwhelming majority, with the Government's support, this "PFAS tax" represents a legitimate contribution from polluters to the significant public investment required for pollution cleanup by local authorities.

After a year and a half of waiting for the publication of the implementing decree that would make this tax effective, the measure has now come into force since September 2026.

Unfortunately, the implementing decree provides for numerous exceptions which weaken the spirit of the law, and many industries thus escape the levy.

But the fight is not over. Next steps? Extend the legislation to the European Union and other countries around the world, ban PFAS in other everyday objects such as kitchen utensils, continue research on alternatives to PFAS, and finally, develop technologies to capture PFAS and destroy them effectively, to finally get rid of the historical pollution that contaminates all our ecosystems.