France is to stop granting new licences for oil and gas exploration on the mainland and in overseas territories, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot said today.
"There will be no new exploration licences for hydrocarbons, we will pass the law this autumn," Hulot said on BFMTV.
President Emmanuel Macron said during his election campaign in February that he was opposed to exploration for gas and shale gas in mainland France.
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But Hulot, an environmental campaigner and former TV star before he joined the cabinet last month, said it would currently be impossible to take such a move without triggering lawsuits from energy companies.
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