Summary
On 20 February 2026, a bill on the legal personality and rights of the Seine River was submitted in the Senate of France’s national parliament by Senator Rémi Féraud. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development.
The proposed legislation calls for the recognition of the Seine River as a set of interdependent ecosystems with fundamental rights, including the right to exist and evolve freely, the right to conservation and restoration, and the right to health and good environmental status. The law outlines the creation of a “public establishment” responsible for the management and protection of the Seine. This would be comprised of a scientific committee and a “Parliament of the Seine” that would include representatives of:
a) residents of riverside municipalities chosen by lot
b) national and local environmental protection associations
c) municipalities, inter-municipalities, departments and regions (30%)
d) state and national public institutions (10%)
The management of the public establishment would fall under the authority of the Prefect of Police, the Mayor of Paris, state representatives with territorial competency, and the mayors of towns crossed by the Seine.
Background
The bill is the result of several years of citizen and legal mobilization that began in 2021 with the creation of the collective of the Guardians of the Seine and the drafting of a citizen’s declaration on the rights of the river.
In June 2025, the City of Paris organized the Seine Citizens’ Convention, which brought together 50 Paris residents chosen at random to make recommendations on the future of the river and its uses. Participants concluded that the Seine should have fundamental rights, including “the right to exist, to flow and to regenerate.”
Between 2025 and 2026, the rights of the Seine River progressed beyond a citizens’ initiative—which as of 2026 make up the majority of the rights of nature movement in France. The introduction of this bill gives legal impetus to the rights of nature movement in France and opens up precedent for the other citizen-led rights of rivers initiatives in the country.
Legal Critique
Critics note the bill’s legal ambiguity. Although its title articulates legal personality, the proposal does not make express reference to the legal personhood of the Seine, and therefore the river’s legal status remains unclear. Advocates also note that due to the current political makeup of the French National Assembly and Senate, the bill has little chance of being adopted in the short term. However, proponents contend with this obstacle as a political step of democracy. The NGO Wild Legal has published a Guide to the municipal elections to give citizens tools to act locally and participate in the future composition of the Senate.
Involved Organizations
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/france-national-law-legal-personality-and-rights-of-the-seine-river/.
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