Towns in rural north-east France have been forced to give up tap water after record levels of toxic “forever chemicals”, or PFAS, were found. Locals are worried about their health, while mayors say they have been left powerless.
For the past six months, 3,500 people in around 20 towns across the Meuse and Ardennes departments have had to rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking.
"I need to buy more, I’m running out," says Marion, a foster carer in Malandry, pointing to four packs of bottled water stacked in her garage.
With the taps off limits, she now stocks up at the supermarket each week.
"I don’t have a choice, especially as I look after very young children. There’s no way I’ll let them drink the tap water," she tells RFI.
In early July, the prefectures of Meuse and Ardennes formally banned tap water after high levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) were found.
An investigation by Disclose and France 3, published 4 July, showed concentrations were three to 27 times higher than the health authority limit of 100 nanograms per litre. The EU plans to impose this limit on 20 types of PFAS from 2026.
PFAS – commonly known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally – are synthetic compounds used in items as varied as automotive parts and wind turbines, cosmetics and non-stick cookware.
They build up in air, soil, water and the human body. Studies show long-term exposure can affect fertility and raise the risk of certain cancers and other illnesses.
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‘Will this make his illness worse?’
"When you choose to live in the countryside, you expect a good quality of life – and then you realise that’s not the case," says Annick, another Malandry resident. She'd never even heard of PFAS before the scandal broke out.
Neither had Aurore, who lives a few streets away. Mother of four children, she's deeply worried about the health risks, particularly for her husband, who has a genetic condition.
"His illness means he’s more prone to developing a tumour in the kidneys and jaw. He’s always drunk tap water. Will this make his genetic condition worse? We just don’t know."
Malandry’s mayor Annick Dufils has recorded contamination three times higher in her local commune than the limit set by the health authorities.
"How can these tiny rural villages be affected like industrial sites?" she asks.
From the high plateaux surrounding the village, there’s no factory in sight – only woodland and maize fields.
The source of the pollution has not yet been confirmed. But local officials suspect the former Stenpa paper mill in Stenay, 15 kilometres from Malandry. Before shutting at the end of 2024, the plant discharged PFAS-contaminated sludge, which was spread on farmland as fertiliser.
Mayors of the affected villages says the sludge spreading began in 1995.
Dufils and Richard Philbiche, mayor of the contaminated commune of Villy, have recovered the spreading plan for 2000-2013. In total, 23,000 tonnes of industrial sludge were to be spread on farmland in Villy and neighbouring Olizy-sur-Chiers "with a limit of 30 tonnes per hectare every three years", says Philbiche.
He shows a satellite photo, taken in June 2000, of a farm plot near Malandry and Villy’s water catchments.
"The little white dots you see are sludge heaps. About 1,500 tonnes. But the plot is only about 10 hectares. With the 30-tonne-per-hectare limit, it should only have held 300 tonnes. So where did the other 1,200 tonnes go?"
The two mayors suspect the sludge was buried, contaminating their water catchments through runoff.
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Mayors left to handle the situation
"I was stunned to learn about the pollution, especially as the annual water reports had always been excellent," says Dufils.
The mayor was informed of the contamination on 19 May 2025 after an analysis by the Grand Est Regional Health Agency. A few days later, during a meeting convened by the sub-prefect, Dufils was shocked to discover that PFAS had been "detected in our water by the health authorities since 2016".
The prefectures of Meuse and Ardennes say the health agency carried out "exploratory analysis campaigns" in 2023 and 2024. Tests in Villy in late 2024 confirmed PFAS in the water. "Further investigations" were made in 2024 and 2025. But PFAS monitoring was only added to sanitary checks this year.
"They hid this pollution from us!" says Dufils, adding that she has personally lost confidence in the health authorities.
Local officials also feel abandoned since the scandal broke.
"The authorities are leaving it to us to deal with the problem, even though we’re not to blame. But we’re totally powerless," says Philbiche.
Both he and Dufils are legally obliged to provide residents with bottled water. They reimburse households via bank transfer – the equivalent of two litres of water per person per day for the last six months.
In Malandry, that has cost around €3,500 over six months, out of a yearly budget of €200,000. "It’s an enormous expense that wasn’t in our forecasts. There are things we won’t be able to do in the commune because we’ll have to pay for the water," says Dufils.
Her requests for state aid have failed. "The authorities’ recommendation is ‘increase the price of water’. But our residents aren’t going to pay more for water they can’t even drink!" she says.
Other options include finding another water source or linking to a neighbouring commune. But the work is far too expensive.
On 21 July, two activated carbon filtration units were installed in the water towers of Malandry and Haraucourt, about 30 kilometres away. The system traps PFAS particles on carbon surfaces.
The cost of the €20,000 units must be paid by the communes. Early results look promising, but no one knows how long the filters will last.
For now, the mayors are relying on each other. "We’re standing together as mayors affected by this pollution," says Philbiche. He and Dufils are considering legal action.
This article was adapted from the original version in French by Baptiste Coulon
