France pollution: Government ordered to compensate victims
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00:00 It's a legal verdict with no former precedent that could pave the way for future cases.
00:06 In a first for France, the Paris Administrative Court has ordered the government to compensate
00:11 two families who have suffered due to the city's air pollution.
00:17 The jurisdiction hasn't opened Pandora's box by saying that all those who experience respiratory
00:21 issues when pollution is high can ask for compensation.
00:26 We're dealing with cases where families have had to move to protect their children from
00:30 pollution.
00:33 Both families lived close to the Paris ring road encircling the city.
00:38 3,000 euros will be compensated to the parents of a baby hospitalised with constant bronchiolitis
00:45 and 2,000 euros to the family of a little girl with recurrent ear infections.
00:50 The ruling is a victory for environmental groups who are waiting for concrete measures
00:54 to be taken.
00:56 These solutions are to improve air quality, to tackle the sources of pollution like road
01:02 traffic, pollution coming from homes due to things like wood burning stoves.
01:07 We need to make it easier to use bicycles, walk and use public transport and switch to
01:12 lower emission vehicles and change our daily habits.
01:16 The French government has two months to launch an appeal and the Ministry of Ecological Transition
01:21 has begun a legal probe into the case.
01:24 According to the air quality watchdog Air Paris, 7,900 deaths could have been avoided
01:30 in the Paris area last year if proper measures were taken to limit air pollution.
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