French President Emmanuel Macron denied any “agreement” or “collusion” with the Swiss company Nestlé over the bottled water scandal.
“I am not aware of these matters. There was no agreement with anyone and no collusion with anyone,” Macron told reporters on Tuesday.
Nestlé Waters, a subsidiary of the Swiss food giant, was accused of using illegal microfiltration methods on its bottled water brands to bypass health regulations.
The group is the owner in France of brands like Perrier, Vittel, Hépar and Contrex mineral waters.
On Tuesday, investigative journalists from Le Monde and Radio France revealed that the services of former prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, and the French presidency allowed Nestlé to market these waters, despite the health authorities' recommendations for a ban from 2023.
Citing "exchanges of emails and ministerial notes", the journalists accuse the French government of having "privileged the interests of Nestlé to the detriment of consumers" by granting exemptions for the company's practices.
At the beginning of 2024, Nestlé Waters, admitted to having used prohibited techniques such as ultraviolet light and active carbon filters "to guarantee food safety" of its mineral waters. In September, the subsidiary of the Swiss giant had agreed to pay a fine of 2 million euros to avoid a trial, following a complaint from the Foodwatch association.
French consumer rights group Foodwatch called on the French government to finally answer all open questions in the case.
Foodwatch sued Nestlé in February 2024. However, the court in Epinal, where Nestlé has factories in the Vosges, dropped the case – in return for a fine of two million euros. In foodwatch's view, such a fine has no deterrent effect for a company like Nestlé.
“To earn the fine that has now been imposed, Nestlé needs the equivalent of just 99 minutes. For comparison: in 2023, the food manufacturer made a profit of 11.2 billion Swiss francs. Over the years of the fraud, Nestlé sold more than 18 billion bottles of ‘natural’ mineral water, according to media reports. This earned the company 3 billion euros,” – Foodwatch reported.
After new complaints against Nestlé Waters in September 2024, an investigating judge was finally appointed in January 2025.
“Foodwatch is calling for an investigation into the French government’s handling of the case and insists that these fraudulent practices must be thoroughly investigated and stopped”, - the group stated.
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The U.S. is set to resume shipments of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) to Ukraine after upgrading them to counter Russian jamming, sources told Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, has stated that Ukraine will never accept a "frozen conflict," reaffirming the country's commitment to restoring its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is engaged in serious discussions with Russia to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
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Azerbaijan and Armenia have finalized a historic peace agreement, marking a major step toward ending decades of conflict, with both sides agreeing on all remaining articles.
The U.S. is set to resume shipments of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB) to Ukraine after upgrading them to counter Russian jamming, sources told Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, has stated that Ukraine will never accept a "frozen conflict," reaffirming the country's commitment to restoring its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is engaged in serious discussions with Russia to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
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