France Tells Environment Groups That It Still Opposes Fracking

France will keep its current ban on hydraulic fracturing, the country's Prime Minister Jean- Marc Ayrault and Energy Minister Delphine Batho have assured environmental groups, due to its potential risks for the environment.

Following a meeting with several environmental NGOs, French Minister for the Environment and Energy Delphine Batho said the government remained "totally opposed" to the controversial extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, Bloomberg reports.

"As it stands now this technique is risky for the environment and health and that is why France banned it," Bloomberg quotes the minister as saying. "The prime minister confirmed we remain opposed to hydraulic fracturing. The position is perfectly clear."

In a statement after the meeting, however, Greenpeace, one of the NGOs to meet the ministers, said that its issues with shale don't lie entirely with the extraction method. 

"Greenpeace has reiterated its position and that will not change... ," the statement said. "The question is not whether we can extract gas and oil shale whether the gas in Larzac or in the Paris basin. We should just not get those fossil fuels if we really want to fight effectively against climate change."

Even if another method of extraction was found for the resource, Greenpeace said that the government should not consider revoking the ban.

"It would be a very bad sign from the government if it tried to reopen this issue one way or another. The pressure must be very strong from the oil and gas groups, but this government must keep its promises and resist the lobbying."