The Constitutional Council received from the Conseil d'État an application for a priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality raised by the Departmental Federation of Trade Unions of Agricultural Operators from Finistère. The applicant challenged the compatibility of a legislative provision dealing with delineation of protection zones for feeder areas for drinking water intakes with the principle of public participation.

The contested legislative provision permitted the regulatory authorities to determine the conditions under which the administrative authorities may delimit the zones where it is necessary to ensure protection for the feeder areas for drinking water intakes of particular importance for supply, as well as erosion zones and to establish an action plan to this effect.

According to the applicant, in not specifying the conditions under which the public may exercise its right to participate in the delimitation of protection zones for feeder areas for drinking water intakes and the establishment of action plans to this effect within these, the legislator has violated the principle of public participation guaranteed by Article 7 of the Environmental Charter, which is part of the constitution.

The Constitutional Council ruled that the contested legislative provisions were unconstitutional on the basis that they didn’t carry out the implementation of the principle of public participation in the adoption of the public decisions concerned.