An inquiry says France's government covered up Nestle's illegal treatment of bottled water

PARIS — The government of French President Emmanuel Macron covered up decisions over the illegal treatment of mineral water by food industry giant Nestle, including the world-famous Perrier brand, a Senate inquiry commission said Monday.

Its report focused on Nestle's years of use of treatments to avoid bacterial or chemical contamination of water labeled as ''natural mineral water'' or ''spring water'' for brands also including Contrex, Vittel and Hépar. Such treatments are prohibited under French and European regulations.

The report concluded that France's government had concealed ''illegal practices."

''In addition to Nestle Waters' lack of transparency, the French government's lack of transparency must also be highlighted,'' it said.

French media reported the banned treatments last year.

Nestle paid a fine to avoid legal action

The report noted a "deliberate strategy" of concealment since the first government meeting on the issue in October 2021. Months later, authorities agreed to a Nestle plan to replace the banned treatments with microfiltering.

Nestle did not immediately respond to a request for comment. France's government did not immediately comment.

Last year, the Swiss company publicly acknowledged having used treatments on mineral waters and agreed to pay a 2 million euro fine ($2.2 million) to avoid legal action.

The inquiry commission interviewed more than 120 people including Nestle's CEO and top managers. One refused to speak to it: Alexis Kohler, then-secretary general of the Elysee presidential palace, who the report said has spoken several times with Nestle executives by phone or in person.

The commission concluded ''that the presidency of the republic had known, at least since 2022, that Nestle had been cheating for years.''

Asked about scandal in February, Macron said he was ''not aware of these things ... There is no collusion with anyone.''

Fraud estimated to be worth over $3 billion

Alexandre Ouizille, the commission's rapporteur, said the total amount of the fraud has been estimated at over 3 billion euros ($3.38 billion) by France's agency in charge of fraud control.

Natural mineral water is sold about 100 to 400 times the price of tap water, he said, denouncing "misleading of consumers."

Ouizille described a Nestle plant in southern France the commission visited where there were ''sliding cabinets behind which illegal treatments were carried out.''

The report said Nestle argued there was a risk of job losses if the government did not authorize some kind of treatment or microfiltration, because its plants would have to close due to spring water being contaminated by bacteria like E. coli that can cause serious illness and death.

Laurent Burgoa, the president of the commission, said there has been no proven harm to the health of people who drank water sold by Nestle.

''Personally, I drank some Perrier ... But I didn't know what I was drinking, that's the problem," Burgoa said.