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France's highest court has ordered Le Clemenceau, the decommmissioned aircraft carrier, to stay out of Indian waters, pending a suit by environmental campaigners.
The court decision forced President Jacques Chirac to order the return of the former flagship of the Gallic navy from the Arabian Sea after environmentalists scuppered its proposed break-up in an Indian scrapyard.
Earlier, an Indian court had banned the 27,000-tonne warship from entering port while deciding whether her asbestos was a hazard to shipyard workers. The decision was a triumph for environmental pressure groups, led by Greenpeace.
It claimed Le Clemenceau, the pride of France from the days of the late president Charles de Gaulle until the 1990s, was laden with asbestos, which would not be properly disposed of in India.
The French court decision came at a sensitive time as Chirac, who sees himself as a environmental champion, is due in India on a state visit on Sunday.
The Elysée Palace has ordered a study to determine how much asbestos was left in the hull. Environmentalists said that up to 1,000 tonnes remained in Le Clemenceau, while the defence ministry says that there are only 45 tonnes.
"The president has decided to put this ship in French waters on a position of standby, which offers all security guarantees until a definitive solution for its dismantling is found," the Elysée said.
The saga of hull Q790, as she is officially called, was pitiful and shameful, Le Monde said. "The circles in the water performed off India by the Clemenceau give a disastrous image of the French Navy and France," it said.