France's parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040, both within the country and its overseas territories.
In what is a world first, under the new law, all existing drilling permits will not be renewed and no new exploration licences will be granted.
The move is largely symbolic as France imports most of its oil and gas, only extracting the equivalent of about 815,000 tonnes of oil per year, an amount produced in a few hours by Saudi Arabia.
President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants France to take the lead as a major world economy switching away from fossil fuels - and the nuclear industry - into renewable sources.
