French Court Orders Ban on Mercedes Cars Be Lifted

{{An interim court ruling issued on Tuesday gives the French government two days to allow Mercedes-Benz’s new models into the country, after the administration banned them over the fluid used in their air-conditioner.}}

“At this point in the investigation, the introduction in France of the vehicles targeted by the challenged decree cannot be considered in itself to constitute a serious threat to the environment,” France’s Council of State, the country’s highest court in administrative matters, wrote in a statement explaining its ruling.

This is the second time the German car manufacturer has won a court order against the French government since the row started last June.

The French authorities then rejected “type approval” – the EU-wide certificate required to put a new model on the road – for four new classes of Mercedes-Benz cars. They argued that their air-conditioning system did not comply with European law.

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