France plans to jail environmental offenders for 10 years under new laws
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France is set to make serious intentional damage to the environment punishable by up to 10 years in prison, as part of a planned “ecocide” law, government ministers said in remarks published on Sunday.
The law was proposed following a recommendation made by the Citizens’ Convention for the Climate, an environmental committee of 150 people, created by the government a year ago.
Committing an “ecocide” offense could be met with a fine of up to €4.5 million ($5.3 million), or up to 10 years in prison in cases of “intentional violation” of climate laws, Justice Minister Eric Dupont-Moretti and Ecological Transition Minister Barbara Pompili told Le Journal du Dimanche weekly newspaper.
“We are going to create a general pollution offense,” said Dupont-Moretti. “Punishment will be staggered according to a perpetrator’s intentions.”
“We are crossing a historic milestone for environmental justice,” tweeted Pompili.
Penalties will range from three to 10 years in prison, depending on whether the crime was a result of recklessness or an intentional offense, he said. The most serious offense will be classified “an intentional offense causing irreversible damage to the environment.”
Lawmakers also hope to fine violators of environmental laws “up to 10 times the profit they would have generated by throwing waste into the river.”
