Please excuse the lack of news from the EconoTour lately.

I (Rulian) am busy with my student obligations (back to school) and I access the Internet for the first time in a week.

Where is the EconoTour at?

As you may have understood from reading some of the topics in forum, the EconoTour is about to be canceled for the moment for legal reasons.

Indeed after having inquired with Alain Juste (from Valenergol click here ), it turned out that driving with HBV ( Crude vegetable oil in bio fuel ) is strictly and formally prohibited according to the customs code, despite the European directive 2003-30-CE.

In addition, the judgment unfavorable to Valenergol rendered in 2004 created a case law which makes the EconoTour very risky especially since we intended to do daily monitoring on the site (everyone would therefore have known where we would have been which slightly increases the risks. "Interception" by customs)

We had put hope in the recent Environmental Charter but this one will surely not bring any solution to this problem (in this regard we will see the results of the Erika trial)

I initiated the EconoTour but I have to stop the project ... after only 3 weeks: I cannot take the risk of incurring legal proceedings, even if a European appeal invoking the 2003 directive -30-CE could give us the last word again.

Indeed that will require a long and certainly expensive legal process that I am not able to assume and neither Christophe!

Is this a definitive abandonment?

Never !! The EconoTour is simply put on standby (the famous “back to better jump”) for an action either next year or when France will stop being "outlaw" in relation to European directives to protect a handful of its privileged!

However, other actions are still possible, and legally this time, to promote alternative fuels and renewable energies.

Christophe and I are thinking about other feasible projects in the immediate future and we remain motivated to get things done!

Finally, we would be happy to have your feelings on this decision on the forum : click here.

To see the debate about HVB and the law, click here

Rulian (and Christophe who brought some supplements)