Overview
- The tribunal correctionnel de Nancy opened the case on March 23 over alleged 'exceptional pollution' tied to long-running illegal plastic dumps near Vittel and Contrexéville.
- The court granted defense motions to annul a large share of the prosecution file, including all microplastics measurements and engineering reports ordered during the preliminary inquiry.
- With much of the dossier excluded, the presiding judge said 'not much remains' and adjourned proceedings until Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
- Prosecutors and civil parties requested a new independent expert assessment, a step the prosecutor endorsed, while Nestlé maintains three recognized labs found no microplastic pollution in local forages.
- Investigations have identified more than 360,000 cubic meters of buried plastic across four sites dating back to the 1960s–70s, with corporate succession from the original Vittel operator to Nestlé in 1992 part of the case background.