French State Ordered To Compensate Victims Of Air Pollution For The First Time

In two judgments handed down on June 16, 2023, the Paris Administrative Court recognized for the first time the existence of a causal link between the bronchiolitis and ear infections affecting two children and the French State's failure to take action in terms of air pollution.

These two judgments have been issued in a context marked by increased sanctions against the French State in environmental matters¹.

In these two matters, two families who had lived near the Paris ring road and whose children suffered from respiratory illnesses, filed an action to claim compensation for the damage they suffered as a result of the French State's culpable failure to deal with air pollution. While the French State's culpable inaction had already been established in air pollution matters, this is the first time that a judge has acknowledged the existence of a causal link between the exceedance of pollution thresholds and these illnesses. The French State was ordered to pay the