France’s highest court has upheld a government ban on hydraulic fracturing.

The Constitutional Council ruled against a challenge by Schuepbach Energy, an American company, whose exploration permits were revoked after the French Parliament banned the practice.

"The constitutional council threw out these four complaints and ruled that the disputed components of the 13 July 2011 law comply with the constitution," the council said in a statement, as cited by BBC.

France, which relies heavily on nuclear power, has some of the largest shale gas deposits in Europe.

In addition to France, Bulgaria has banned fracking. Britain has allowed modest experiments, though those have met with public discontent.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament voted to tighten the rules on fracking, giving initial approval to a measure to require in-depth environmental impact studies on all such projects, The New York Times reminds.