Connexion France: Shale gas plans may be reopened

PLANS to drill for shale gas could get the green light after Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the debate about exploitation "was not settled" but new ways of getting the gas out of the rock had still to be found.

Speaking on BFMTV he said the banned hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technique - the only known way to extract the gas (called gaz de schiste) from the rock - had "devastating effects" on the environment and the countryside but if another method was found they would have to look at it.

The government said in July that there would be no rethink on hydraulic fracturing but Ayrault said yesterday it was hosting an environmental conference on renewable energy sources on September 14-15 and "everything will be put on the table".

He added: "We need to put the different solutions that can exist on the table and decide on whether we can use them."    MORE