A French court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to cut people off from their water supply if they are unable to afford to pay for it.
This means water companies in France will not be able to restrict access to water if a person cannot afford to pay.
Investmentwatchblog.com reports:
The Constitutional Council has validated Friday a total ban on water cuts introduced into French law in 2013 but contested by the Saur distributor. The Council “held that the interference with freedom of contract and freedom of enterprise resulting from the prohibition of interrupting the water supply is not manifestly disproportionate to the objective pursued by the legislature “he said in a decision published on its website .
Saur company had filed a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) after being sued for a water cut performed on one of its customers in Picardy. The Constitutional Council “rejected the objections” of water dispenser, which denounced “a disproportionate interference with freedom of contract and freedom of enterprise.”
Brottes the law of 15 April 2013, of which the implementing decree of 27 February 2014 prohibits any distributor to cut the water supply in a principal residence even if unpaid, and that throughout the year . The same law also established the principle of winter break for electricity and gas for the benefit of all consumers irrespective of income.