"PARIS — French lawmakers opened debate on Tuesday on proposals to ban a method for extracting oil and gas deposits from shale because of environmental concerns, throwing up the first serious stumbling block to firms that want to use the practice.

Looking with alarm at the experience in the United States, where shale gas is booming, even members of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s governing conservative party have come out against the practice, known as hydraulic fracturing, in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped deep underground under high pressure to free scattered pockets of oil and gas from dense rock formations. ...

Even without the final study, which is expected in June, deputies in the National Assembly are expected to pass a ban on Wednesday. The legislation will then be sent to the Senate."

David Jolly reports for the New York Times May 10, 2011.
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SEE ALSO:

"Tracking Fracking Water Goes High-Tech" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) [3]

"Another Fracking Mess for the Shale-Gas Industry" (TIME) [4]