PFAS pollution: six activists acquitted after intrusion on Arkema site
Six environmental activists who entered a chemical group Arkema site in Pierre-Bénite in 2024 to raise awareness about the perennial pollutants were acquitted on appeal in Lyon on Thursday.
Two other members of the Extinction Rebellion organization were fined €300, notably for "rebellion" against law enforcement. The decision upholds " freedom of political expression and freedom to demonstrate, and therefore the freedom to denounce polluters ," their lawyer, Olivier Forray, said.
Also read : PFAS pollution: the State will monitor 60 potentially emitting installations
" We never doubted the legitimacy of our presence that day ," Eline, 37, a acquitted activist, told AFP. " It's the polluting company that deserves to be brought to light and then stop poisoning us ," she added.
Several hundred people entered the Arkema site in Pierre-Bénite (Rhône) in March 2024, where they left graffiti and displayed banners, including one with the word "poison" topped with a skull.
Prosecuted for " participation in a group with a view to preparing violence or damage ," the eight activists were acquitted at first instance . The court then ruled that the prosecution represented " a disproportionate interference in the exercise of freedom of expression ." The prosecution had appealed, as had Arkema.
At the hearing before the Court of Appeal, the Attorney General requested a four- to six-month suspended prison sentence . Arkema, through its lawyer Bénédicte Graulle, highlighted " the risk of explosion and the fear of staff " at the Seveso high-threshold site.
Arkema uses PFAS on this site, nicknamed eternal pollutants because they are almost indestructible once released into the environment. These chemical substances are very common in everyday objects, some of which have harmful effects on health.
The industrial zone downstream from Lyon, nicknamed "the valley of chemistry," is considered one of the areas in France most polluted by PFAS, which is causing serious concern among the population and local elected officials.
Lyon Capitale
