Context
French regulatory framework for contaminated land

The foundations of the regulations governing polluted sites and soils were laid in the 1970s, as part of the legislation governing facilities classified for environmental protection (ICPE).

Article 34 of Decree no. 77-1133 of September 21, 1977, implementing Law no. 76-633 of July 19, 1976 on facilities classified for environmental protection, requires operators of closed-down facilities to "restore the site of the facility to a condition in which none of the hazards or inconveniences mentioned in Article 1 ^er of the Law of July 19, 1976 arise".

At the same time, administrative jurisprudence has ruled that the combination...