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The list below is an excerpt of publications in the French and European official journals concerning environment, energy, and occupational health and safety from October 2025.
ENVIRONMENT
New decree concerning the use of treated wastewater for urban sanitation and amendment of decrees on watering green spaces and crop irrigation
Decree of 8 September 2025 concerning the conditions for the production and use of treated wastewater for urban sanitation and AMENDING the decree of 14 December 2023 concerning the conditions for the production and use of treated wastewater for watering green spaces AND AMENDING the decree of 18 December 2023 concerning the conditions for the production and use of treated wastewater for crop irrigation [Official Journal of the French Republic of 5 October 2025]
This decree defines the requirements to be met for using treated wastewater for urban sanitation purposes such as: road cleaning by sweeper; cleaning, without the use of a spray lance, of verges, civil engineering structures; cleaning of waste disposal facility platforms; hydro-jetting of sewerage networks and cleaning of equipment associated with hydro-jetting of sewerage networks; hydro-jetting of rainwater networks; operations on non-collective sanitation systems and cleaning of refuse bins.
Furthermore, this decree provides clarifications and amendments to the decree of 14 December 2023 concerning the conditions for the production and use of treated wastewater for watering green spaces and to the decree of 18 December 2023 concerning the conditions for the production and use of treated wastewater for crop irrigation.
Addition to the list of industrial platforms
Decree of 18 November 2021 establishing the list of industrial platforms provided for by Article L. 515-48 of the Environmental Code AMENDED by the decree of 17 October 2025 [Official Journal of the French Republic of 31 October 2025]
The amending decree supplements the list of industrial platforms by adding the Empalot industrial platform* (manager ArianeGroup SAS).
*As a reminder, an industrial platform is a grouping of classified installations within a defined and homogeneous territory, leading, through the similarity or complementarity of the activities of these installations, to the pooling of the management of certain goods and services necessary for them..
ENERGY
Modification of eligibility for the purchase obligation for photovoltaic solar installations and for certain installations utilizing biogas
Energy Code Articles R. 314-1 to R. 314-52-11: Support mechanisms for renewable energies and natural gas cogeneration AMENDED by Decree No. 2025-1008 of October 28, 2025, amending Article D. 314-15 of the Energy Code concerning the thresholds applicable for benefiting from the purchase obligation for electricity production from renewable energies [Official Journal of October 30, 2025]
This amending decree revisits the eligibility conditions for the purchase obligation for:
- removing from the scheme installations utilizing biogas produced by methanization of non-hazardous waste and raw plant material;
- lowering the eligibility cap for photovoltaic solar installations located on buildings, hangars, or canopies in mainland metropolitan territory from 500 kWp to 100 kWp. The threshold remains at 500 kWp for installations located in areas not connected to the mainland metropolitan grid*.
*An amendment of June 5, 2025, already provided for the lowering of this threshold to 200 kWp by January 1, 2026.
SECURITY
Restrictions on the use and placing on the market of PFAS in firefighting foams
Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of 18 December 2006 concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) AS AMENDED BY Regulation (EU) 2025/1988 of 2 October 2025 amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 as regards per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in firefighting foams [OJEU of 3 October 2025] and its corrigendum [OJEU of 8 October 2025]
With the aim of eliminating all non-essential uses of PFAS, the regulation amends the REACH Regulation in the Annex concerning restrictions on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of certain dangerous substances, mixtures and articles, to include PFAS substances in their entirety, i.e., any substance containing at least one fully fluorinated methyl (CF3) or methylene (CF2) carbon atom (without any H/Cl/Br/I carbon atoms attached).
Thus, from 23 October 2030, these substances may no longer be placed on the market or used in firefighting foams at a concentration equal to or greater than 1 mg/L for the sum of all PFAS. Associated obligations, exclusions, and derogations are also specified.
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Amendment to the Regulation on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) concerning specific derogations for the manufacture, placing on the market or use of tetraBDE, pentaBDE, hexaBDE, heptaBDE and decaBDE
Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants AS AMENDED BY Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1482 of 24 July 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 as regards tetrabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether, hexabromodiphenyl ether, heptabromodiphenyl ether and decabromodiphenyl ether persistent organic pollutants [OJEU of 4 September 2025]
The regulation amends Annex I to the POP Regulation, which sets out the list of prohibited POPs, as regards the derogations for the entries concerning:
- Tetrabromodiphenyl ether C12H6Br4O (CAS: 40088-47-9 and others),
- Pentabromodiphenyl ether C12H5Br5O (CAS: 32534-81-9 and others),
- Hexabromodiphenyl ether C12H4Br6O (CAS: 36483-60-0 and others),
- Heptabromodiphenyl ether C12H3Br7O (CAS: 68928-80-3 and others),
- Bis(pentabromophenyl) ether (decabromodiphenyl ether; decaBDE) (CAS: 1163-19-5).
Indeed, the derogation thresholds provided for these entries were to be re-examined and evaluated by the Commission by 16 July 2021 at the latest.
Amendments concerning the employment of seniors and the quality of social dialogue
Labour Code Articles L. 2312-5 to L. 2312-60: Powers of the Social and Economic Committee / Labour Code Articles L. 4624-1 to L. 4624-10: Actions and resources of members of multidisciplinary occupational health teams / Labour Code Articles L. 3121-1 to L. 3121-69: Working time and organisation / Labour Code Articles L. 1511-1 to L. 1532-1: Provisions relating to individual employment relations in overseas territories / Labour Code Articles L. 2313-1 to L. 2315-94: Establishment, operation and composition of the Social and Economic Committee AS AMENDED BY Law No 2025-989 of 24 October 2025 transposing national interprofessional agreements in favour of the employment of experienced employees and relating to the evolution of social dialogue [JORF of 25 October 2025]
To promote senior employment and improve the quality of social dialogue, this law amends various provisions of the labor code, particularly concerning:
- New information made available to the social and economic committee by the employer in establishments with more than 50 employees;
- The consideration of job or working time adjustment, adaptation, or transformation measures during employees' career development interviews;
- The employer's refusal procedures for phased retirement;
- The abolition of the three-term limit for employee representatives on the CSE.