france has drawn the attention of the European Court of Justice for failing to fully enact the European rules for environmental impact assessments ( eia ) in wildlife habitat areas.

According to the assessments made by the court, the guidelines France did use were not sufficiently clear and precise. Moreover, the French government had adopted no provisions to mitigate damages in a conservation site where there was no alternative solution to some form of development.

While France does have legislation that require eia s for large development projects and town planning, assessments are waived in the case of certain projects because of their low cost or purpose. The court said: "Such exemptions cannot be justified... by the expression