Plan to reintroduce banned pesticide in France overruled by constitutional council | Pesticides

The main constitutional authority of France ruled against the reintroduction of a harmful pesticide for ecosystems, affirming that it is unconstitutional.

Thursday evening’s decision is a blow to the government. It comes after weeks of opposition from the left, environmentalists and doctors, and record signatures of 2m on a petition against a bill which would have enabled a banned pesticide in France in 2020 to return to service.

The “DUPLOMB law” – named after the conservative legislator Laurent DUPLOMB who proposed it – had been presented in Parliament as an attempt to release French farmers, who have repeatedly expressed frustration concerning bureaucratic constraints in the agricultural sector, unjust foreign competition and what they called strict regulations, including pesticides.

But in a government reprimand on Thursday evening, the Constitutional Council noted that the law of the law to reintroduce acetamipride – a chemical known to be toxic to pollinators such as bees – has not respected the French environmental charter, which guarantees the “right to live in a balanced and healthy environment”. The Constitutional Authority has also raised questions about the provisions of water tanks in the bill.

The president, Emmanuel Macron, had “taken a good note from the decision,” announced his office on Thursday evening, and was to quickly validate the bill without these disputed sections.

Chef Vert, Marine Tondelier, said that she was “very relieved” by the verdict. The Socialist Party said the verdict was a reprimand of “the irresponsibility of the Prime Minister, François Bayrou, and his government”.

The insecticide in question was particularly sought after by producers of beets and hazelnuts, who said that they had no alternative against pests and faced a unfair competition. Some producers have also argued that acetamipride, authorized in other EU countries, was essential to fight against virus yolks, which reduced yields by 30% in 2020 and the production of sugar cut.

The petition on the website of the lower National Assembly of France described the measure as “frontal attack on public health”. Beekeepers have described the chemical product as “a honeycomb”, and its effects on humans are also a source of concern, although its risk remains uncertain in the absence of large -scale studies.

The petition led by students against the bill collected more than 2 million signatures after the legislators adopted its reintroduction on July 8, when it was precipitated in a deeply divided low house in Parliament without appropriate debate.

Agency France-Press contributed to this report