A case that is shaking up the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers and a monster procedure in France involving hundreds of companies and communities: Dieselgate has all the ingredients of an environmental scandal. The Department of Loire-Atlantique has just become a civil party in this sprawling case with ramifications which go far beyond French borders.
The file also originated in 2015 in the United States. The American environmental agency accused Volkswagen of having installed software on hundreds of thousands of vehicles intended to temporarily limit the emission of polluting gases during pollution tests.
40 times the authorized standards
The following year, several judicial inquiries were opened in Paris. And after several years of investigation in France, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat-Chrysler were indicted in 2021 in Paris for deception on goods resulting in a danger to the health of humans or animals
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These five manufacturers are, just like Volkswagen in 2015 in the United States, accused of having equipped diesel vehicles with software concealing polluting emissions during approval tests. Once in circulation, polluting emissions could exceed authorized standards up to 40 times.
“Concerned about the ecological impact”
According to AFP, around 1,500 to 2,000 civil parties were formed, mainly individuals who own a single vehicle, as well as several associations and SMEs. Thursday October 3, 2024, two lawyers, Marc Barennes and Romain Boulet, went to the public health center of the Paris judicial court to submit the case of 700 companies and 130 groups and administrations considering themselves harmed by the practices of manufacturers. Including the Department of Loire-Atlantique. Part of our automobile fleet is affected by the case
confirms the community with Ocean Press.
160 vehicles, representing an investment of 3 million euros between 2009 and 2017. would have been “trafficked”.
As part of its responsible purchasing policy, the Department is concerned about the ecological and social impact of the vehicles we purchase. This is why a claim for compensation is being made,” he specifies.
When they were indicted, all the car manufacturers disputed the facts. According to lawyer Marc Barennes, the amounts obtained abroad where trials took place vary between €1,350 and €6,250.00 in Germany for each of the 200,000 Volkswagen vehicles compensated, up to €4,440.00 per vehicle in the Netherlands.
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