Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Bottled watergate: Why did French government cover for Perrier?


FRANCE24
Issued on: 22/05/2025 
From the show
42:05

Is it something in the water? Why insist on bottled brands at every meal when in a country like France, it flows freely from the tap – even if it’s not exactly free. We’ll ask about old habits and new realities that force a rethink of what we drink.

Anger bubbling over this week with the French senate concluding that the government “at the highest level” covered up for Nestlé which continued to put the words "natural mineral water" on bottles and cans of iconic brands such as Perrier even though the threat of bacteria and pollution have long forced the Swiss food giant to filter the output of its spring in southeast France. Wherein lies the real issue here… for consumers… citizens…

… and for the planet? We often cover stories about water scarcity. But it’s also water management, in this instance how we provide and distribute drinking water. Whose job is it to make sure that it’s clean, that it’s fairly meted out? And who gets to profit from the service of providing this vital necessity?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Jimena Morales-Velasco, Alessandro Xenos.


Our guests

Henri LANDESLecturer, Sciences Po Paris

Philippe MOREAU-CHEVROLETProfessor of political communication, Sciences Po

Audrey LINKENHELDVice-President, Senatorial inquiry committee for bottled water manufacturers

Peter GLEICKAuthor, "Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession With Bottled Water"

By: 

Video by: François PICARD


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