The contaminated sites and soils market in France

The 60 member companies of the Union des professionnels de la dépollution des sites (UPDS, the soil remediation trade body founded in 1992) generate €461 million in turnover in 2025 and employ 2,500 people, excluding associate members. This figure covers neither soil treatment platforms nor non-member companies: it measures the professional core of the contaminated sites and soils market in France, between consultancies and works contractors.

The contaminated sites and soils market in France combines consultancies and works contractors. The UPDS directory lists, on the engineering side, Antea Group, Artelia, Bureau Veritas, Apave, Socotec, Ginger Burgeap and Ramboll, and on the works side Brézillon, Colas Environnement, Ortec Soléo, Serpol, Séché Eco Services and Veolia. According to Environnement magazine (May 2023), Sarpi Remediation washed nearly 7,000 tonnes of PFAS-polluted soil in France.

According to Cerema’s analysis of projects supported by the Fonds friches, restoring land costs on average €375,000 excluding VAT per hectare without pollution, and €600,000 to €800,000 per hectare when the soil or buildings are polluted, excluding the purchase of the land. Remediation therefore weighs heavily on the economics of brownfield recycling operations and on the contaminated sites and soils market in France.

The Fonds friches supported 1,382 projects out of 2,999 applications over three rounds, for €750 million, according to Cerema. These projects aim to recycle 3,375 hectares of brownfield land in France; the scheme is continued within the Fonds vert (French green fund). According to ADEME et vous (October 2025), the Plan national de résorption des décharges littorales (national plan to clear coastal landfills), launched in 2022, covers 124 sites, 3 of which have already been made safe.

The management of contaminated sites and soils in France rests on the future use of the land. According to La Gazette des communes (May 2023), the decree of 19 December 2022, in force since 1 January 2023, defines eight types of use, from industrial to renaturation. Le Moniteur des travaux publics et du bâtiment describes in September 2025 article R. 556-1 of the Code de l’environnement (French Environmental Code) on change of use, then in January 2026 the Casias, SIS and public utility easement tools.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised into six chapters: the market and its scope, market size and dynamics, demand, supply and players, regulation and constraints, and outlook.

SDES environmental accounts, UPDS and Cerema data, ADEME publications and trade press articles from the IndexPresse database. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Remediation consultancies and contractors, developers, property promoters and industrial site owners, local authorities involved in brownfield recycling, as well as consultants, bankers and investors who need to understand the contaminated sites and soils market in France.

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