French ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables is illegal

Although France sent its draft decree to the European Commission in December 2022, the European Commission had asked France to wait a year before adopting it. A new European regulation providing for specific restrictions on the use of certain types of unnecessary packaging was being negotiated - this was finally adopted in spring 2024. Despite this request for a mandatory postponement, the French government adopted the decree on 20 June 2023. According to the French Council of State, the premature adoption constitutes a 'substantial defect', as it prevents the European Commission and the Member States from proposing common or harmonised standards for the subject matter covered by the planned measure. If the government wishes to issue a new implementing decree, it must first inform the European Commission of its intention and respect the deadlines imposed by the legislation before adopting the decree. In addition to the two unions of plastic packaging manufacturers, three major ...