The French government currently has no plans to lift a ban on hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, the technique used to extract gas and oil from shale rock, Environment and Energy Minister Delphine Batho said in an interview with radio station RMC today.

Batho also said there are no plans for a freeze on gasoline prices at the moment.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Rhinds at srhinds@bloomberg.net