Two years after the initial project of constitutional law was presented to the Assemblée Génerale in 2003, an environmental Charter was passed by both houses of the French Parliament during a joint sitting on 28 February 2005. The vote has been considered as a historic step for French citizens, since the Charter has been enshrined in the country’s constitution. The right to live in a healthy environment is thus posed on an equal footing with human rights, health and social policy.

President Chirac considers the Charter as a very important act for everybody’s quality of life and health protection. He also recognises it as a decisive step forward in facing global challenges such as climate change and loss of biodiversity.

The charter includes references to key environmental principles concerning precaution, polluter-pays and prevention. The legislative text explicitly refers to the precautionary principle, but only implicitly to the other two, obliging every individual to "prevent or at least limit" actions likely to cause environmental damage, and "to contribute to the reparation" of any damage they have caused.

 French parliament dossier on the charter