Authorities have been given new powers to deal with the hazards of old lead paint in buildings under a law passed on 29 July 1998. While this only affects residential and not commercial property, it shows the concern in France regarding environmental matters.
Studies have shown that dust and flaking of paint with a lead content can cause a particularly unpleasant disease in children known as “saturnism”. For this reason, lead in paint has been prohibited in residential accommodation in France since 1948. It appears, however, that problems still exist in old and badly maintained property.
The new law allows the authorities to carry out works at the owner’s expense to remedy the situation (unless the owner undertakes to carry out such works) and provides for an information statement to be given to purchasers of residential property in an area that has been identified by the authorities as a “lead risk area”.
