France, Dec. 4 -- The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses) analysed more than 600 tap water samples and the same number of raw water samples taken between 2023 and 2025 from sites covering about one-fifth of France's distributed water.

The tests show that trifluoroacetic acid, or TFA, is the most common PFAS found in drinking water. PFAS are known as forever chemicals because they persist for extremely long periods.

TFA is the smallest member of this group and forms when several industrial pollutants and pesticides break down. Officials say it is close to being classed by the European Union as toxic for reproduction and it also shows signs of harming liver function.

France cracks down on 'forev...