French Parliament Approves Pesticide Waiver Bill
France’s National Assembly has approved an emergency agriculture bill after a tense overnight debate, clearing the way for the possible temporary return of two pesticides banned in the country but still authorised elsewhere in the European Union. The legislation, passed by 296 votes to 224 in the early hours of Tuesday, now requires a final confirmatory vote in the senate, expected later on Tuesday, before it can be definitively adopted by parliament.
The bill allows France’s food, environmental and occupational health agency, ANSES, to exceptionally authorise the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone in agricultural sectors facing serious difficulties. Both substances are prohibited in France but permitted under EU rules. Any authorisation would be temporary, conditional and restricted to a small number of crops or sectors.
Approval in the upper house is considered highly likely, as one of the senate’s main demands – the provision allowing limited pesticide derogations – survived negotiations between the two chambers.
Reactions from Beekeepers and Environmentalists
Beekeepers and environmentalists in France have reacted furiously to the decision. “There are no words to describe the frustration,” said Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne, greater Paris. “Bee populations have already been badly compromised by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. And now this.”
Henri Clément, a beekeeper in the southern Lozère department and spokesperson for the French beekeeping association, UNAF, said the measure was “an absolute disaster for our sector, and for biodiversity as a whole”. For bees, the risk was “very high mortality rates and reduced harvests”, Clément told local media. “It’s just incomprehensible these pesticides have been reauthorised. We’ve been fighting them for 30 years. It’s scandalous, irrational and irresponsible.”
Greenpeace France said the country’s centrist government and its rightwing allies in parliament were “trampling on science, health, the environment and the clear will of the people”, describing the legislation as “deeply concerning” and “a disgrace”.
France’s environment minister, Monique Barbut, said the legislation was “one environmental setback too many” and submitted her resignation.
Rationale and Opposition
Supporters argue that the measure would help French producers compete with farmers elsewhere in Europe who are allowed to use the same products. The use of the pesticides, allowed in the EU but banned in France, will be authorised to combat aphid-borne diseases that can ruin crops of sugar beet, apples, hazelnuts and cherries, which has led producers to claim they can no longer compete with European rivals.
Opponents say it risks reversing environmental protections and exposing people and ecosystems to potentially harmful chemicals. Scientific studies have established that acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid with powerful neurotoxic effects, can poison bees, affecting their foraging capacity and memory. A 2024 study suggested flupyradifurone could be lethal to some honeybees.
The pesticide provision proved particularly contentious because of the public backlash against the Duplomb law last year. That legislation sought to restore the use of acetamiprid but was partly struck down by France’s Constitutional Council. Several MPs from parties supporting the government had suggested removing the measure from the latest bill.