Paris (AFP)

A "victory for the climate", say the NGOs: the Constitutional Council dismissed on Friday Total group, saying that Parliament could completely remove the tax advantage to fuels based on palm oil.

In its decision, the Council "considers that the legislator was able, without disregarding the Constitution, to exclude palm oil from a favorable tax regime for biofuels".

Total had filed an appeal at the end of July against the abolition by 2020 of this tax advantage voted by the deputies in December 2018, arguing of "discrimination incompatible with the French Constitution and Community law".

Very upset, the oil giant believes that this calls into question the viability of its biorefinery La Mède (Bouches-du-Rhone), recently started, which gets much of it with this oil.

But for the Constitutional Council, "by instituting the incentive tax on the incorporation of biofuels, the legislator has intended to fight against the emission of greenhouse gases in the world".

But excluding palm oil, "the legislator has, in the state of knowledge and global conditions of exploitation of palm oil, adopted objective and rational criteria according to the goal pursued," says the jurisdiction .

- "No blackmail to employment" -

"Total takes note of the decision of the Constitutional Council", reacted the group.

For months, its CEO Patrick Pouyanné storm against this provision, estimating between 70 and 80 million euros its negative impact on the result of the site of La Mède.

"I'm not blackmailing the job, but let's be clear: it's not because Total is rich that he has the vocation to run plants at a loss," he warned early in the morning. year.

The agrofuel refinery at La Mède, one of the largest in Europe, started in early July, employing 250 people directly.

In 2015, Total, in conjunction with the government, launched the conversion of its crude oil refinery, which was in deficit in a context of European overcapacity.

In September, before the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, Mr. Pouyanné denounced a change in the "rules of the game".

He then mentioned as a solution the export of La Mède's production in Germany. "Because the Germans have decided to apply the European rules".

France has indeed chosen to go beyond European rules. The EU plans to eliminate palm oil from biofuels by 2030, with exemptions.

According to Total, the biorefinery has to process 650,000 tonnes of oils and fats per year and source "sustainable and certified" palm oil up to 300,000 tonnes.

The group also pledged to use French rapeseed. But "of course, if everything remains in the state with this amendment, we will not be able to meet the commitments we have made across all sectors," warned his boss.

The use of imported palm oil is condemned by environmental associations who report that it contributes to deforestation in Southeast Asia. NGOs also denounce the ineffectiveness of certification labels and believe that companies can not control indirect deforestation.

- General interest -

The elimination of the tax benefit had been voted against the opinion of the government. But finally, at the hearing of the Constitutional Council on October 1, the representative of the General Secretariat of the Government defended the choice of parliamentarians.

"The legislator has pursued a goal of general interest," said Philippe Blanc before the nine Sages, noting the strong impact of oil palm cultivation.

For Greenpeace, Friday's decision "finally connects general interest and environmental protection, and puts the latter above the profits of multinationals.This is a stinging disavowal for Total".

"The State has the power to act", reacted the Climate Action Network, calling for support only "advanced sectors without competition with food uses".

The Brussels-based NGO Federation Transport & Environment has called on "other European countries to follow the example of France".

"Motorists should not be forced to pay for a fuel presented as environmentally friendly as it contributes to the destruction of tropical forests," responded Laura Buffet, its energy director.

© 2019 AFP