Emmanuel Macron humiliated as French government embroiled in massive £2.5bn scandal

Emmanuel Macron's government covered up decisions over the illegal treatment of mineral water by Nestlé, a French Senate inquiry commission has claimed. Nestlé Waters allegedly lobbied the Élysée Palace to permit the sale of branded mineral water which avoided strict rules that effectively misled consumers, according to a damning Senate report released on Monday (May 19).

Nestlé used banned treatments to avoid bacterial or chemical contamination of water labelled as "natural mineral water" or "spring water" for brands including Perrier, Contrex, Vittel and Hépar, according to the report. Such treatments are prohibited under French and EU regulations. Nestlé Waters is alleged to have used carbon filters and ultraviolet light to treat mineral water. Such methods are usually used for tap water.

The report alleges that the Élysée Palace concealed such "illegal practices", adding: "In addition to Nestlé Waters’ lack of transparency, the French government’s lack of transparency must also be highlighted."

The report claims Nestlé had argued there was a risk of job losses if the government did not authorise some kind of treatment or micro-filtration because its plants would have to close due to spring water being contaminated by bacteria such as E. coli, which can cause serious illness and death.

Laurent Burgoa, the president of the commission, said there has been no proven harm to the health of people who drank water sold by the company. But he added: "Personally, I drank some Perrier ... But I didn’t know what I was drinking, that’s the problem."

French media first reported the alleged use of the banned treatments last year. Nestlé paid a fine to avoid legal action. The company has been approached for its response to the inquiry commission's report.

The document claimed there was a "deliberate strategy" of concealment since a first government meeting on the issue in October 2021. Months later, authorities agreed to Nestlé's plan to replace the banned treatments with micro-filtering.

Last year, the Swiss company publicly acknowledged having used treatments on mineral waters and agreed to pay a fine of £1.7million (two million euros) to avoid legal action.

As part of its investigation, the inquiry commission interviewed more than 120 people, including Nestle’s CEO Laurent Freixe and top managers. Alexis Kohler, who refused to speak to the commission, was then-secretary general of the Élysée presidential palace.

The report alleged he had spoken with Nestlé executives by phone or in person a number of times. The commission concluded "the presidency of the republic had known, at least since 2022, that Nestlé had been cheating for years".

Asked about the scandal in February, Mr Macron said he was "not aware of these things", adding: "There is no collusion with anyone."

Alexandre Ouizille, the commission's rapporteur, said the cost of the fraud has been estimated at over £2.5billion (three billion euros) by France's fraud watchdog.

He said natural mineral water is sold at about 100 to 400 times the price of tap water as he denounced consumers in France being misled.

Mr Ouizille said a Nestlé plant in southern France the commission visited had "sliding cabinets" behind which "illegal treatments were carried out".