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France to stop granting oil exploration licences

Environment minister promises no new licences for oil and gas exploration in France and overseas territories under Macron presidency.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

France is to stop granting new licences for oil and gas exploration on the mainland and in overseas territories, Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot said Friday, reports Deutsche Welle.

"There will be no new exploration licenses for hydrocarbons, we will pass the law this autumn," Hulot said on French news channel 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.

Macron even said he would like to see the exploitation of oil and gas halted altogether in France's overseas territories, especially in French Guiana on the northeastern coast of South America.

Read more of this report from Deutsche Welle.