Budget cuts ordered by the French government to offset the cost of the
Gulf War include savings of £13 million to be made by the environment
ministry.
The cut amounts to some 10 per cent of the ministry’s annual budget,
which is already one of the smallest ministerial budgets in France.
Officials say that two-thirds of the savings required will be made by
cancelling a programme for building dams on the Loire river. Protests by
environmentalists had already led to the cancellation of a permit for the
building of the main dam which was planned at Serre-de-la-Farre.
‘If there hadn’t been the Loire situation, we would never have accepted
the cuts,’ said a ministry official.
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The ministry is also planning to cut back on investment in new pollution
control equipment, environmental studies and river cleanup programmes.
