Addressing residents in the region, Chirac said: "I share their concern and their revulsion which is becoming stronger and stronger as this new ecological catastrophe approaches."

He added that he had asked his prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, to visit the area to ensure that everything necessary was being done to combat the spills, at least some of which has come from the Liberian-registered tanker Prestige that sank off Spain in November.

SPACE.WIRE