The prosecutor in the eastern town of Epinal, Frederic Nahon, said the non-prosecution agreement was the, “biggest concerning the environment signed in France to date”.

The deal ends preliminary probes into the use of wells without authorisation and fraud for filtering its mineral waters – a practice that is illegal in France where mineral waters are supposed to be natural.

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The Swiss group, whose water brands also include Vittel and San Pellegrino, will also  spend €1.1million over two years on projects to restore the environment in several French towns where it operates.

The prosecutor said the non-prosecution agreement was justified as Nestle had cooperated with the probe, had brought its practices into compliance and there were no public health consequences.

The deal, “while sanctioning the unauthorised activities that were found, encourages a faster conclusion, remediation of the environmental damage and compensation of several parties,” he said.

A local environmental group welcomed the deal but consumer groups criticised it.

“It’s a scandalous decision which sends a very bad message about a climate of impunity: Nestle Waters can deceive consumers around the world for years and get away with it by pulling out its cheque book,” said Ingrid Kragl, a fraud expert at Foodwatch.