After ordering the French State in 2017 to comply with
air quality standards, and in 2021 to pay a penalty payment of ?10
million for the period from January 11 to July 11, 2021, the
Conseil d'Etat (French Administrative Supreme Court)
ordered it to pay two new penalty payments of ?10 million each for
the two periods from July 2021 to January 2022 and from January to
July 2022 for persistent breach of the authorized nitrogen dioxide
concentration limit.
It should be preliminarily recalled that Article 13 of European
Directive No. 2008/50 of May 11, 2008 on ambient air quality and
cleaner air in Europe imposes limit values for ambient air quality,
and in particular limit values for the concentration of pollutants
such as nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter
PM10, set out in its Annex XI. In the event of
non-compliance with these limit values by the date set for their
application (which has now expired), Article 23 of said Directive
requires Member States to
