Overview

• Prefectures in Meuse and the Ardennes have banned tap water consumption indefinitely in four Meuse villages and 12 Ardennes communes after PFAS levels reached up to 2,729 ng/L—27 times the legal limit—in Villy.
• Authorities have launched a formal probe into the spreading of paper-mill sludge on farmland near key water catchments as the source of the contamination.
• Mayors are supplying two litres of bottled water per resident each day, a measure that costs about €22,000 annually in Han-lès-Juvigny alone.
• A law passed in early 2025 added PFAS to France’s drinking water controls, yet national agencies have not established a safe exposure threshold.
• Local inhabitants report significant stress and anxiety over potential health impacts of PFAS, which are linked to congenital malformations, reduced fertility and rare cancers.