France’s top court will rule on Thursday whether to approve a controversial law that could bring back a banned pesticide. More than two million people have signed a petition calling for the legislation to be scrapped, while doctors, scientists and environmental groups have raised serious health concerns.
The so-called Duplomb law is named after right-wing Republican senator Laurent Duplomb. It was passed on 8 July without a proper debate, bypassing a deeply divided parliament.
Duplomb said the backlash is based on "disinformation".
The law was introduced after months of farmer protests in 2024. It aims to relax health and environmental rules for agriculture so French farmers can compete more easily with those in other EU countries.
But its critics say it puts public health and ecosystems at risk. One of the most contested parts is the possible return of acetamiprid – a controversial pesticide that is toxic to bees and other pollinators.
Toxic to bees
Although banned in France since 2018, acetamiprid is still legal in the EU. Beetroot and hazelnut farmers say they rely on it because they have no alternative and face unfair competition.
But beekeepers call it "a bee killer". French researchers who have studied its impact say it is toxic to bees.
A petition against the law, posted on the National Assembly website on 10 July, has gathered more than two million signatures.
It was launched by student Eleonore Pattery. She said the law "represents a frontal attack on public health, biodiversity, the coherence of climate policies, food security and common sense".
Grassroots campaign against controversial French pesticide bill gathers momentum
The petition calls for the "immediate repeal" of the law and a "citizen-led consultation" involving experts in health, agriculture, law and the environment.
Under French law, if a petition reaches 500,000 verified signatures, the National Assembly may decide to hold a public debate – but only on the contents of the petition itself.
Last month, assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said she would support a debate but ruled out scrapping the law.
The effects of acetamiprid – part of the neonicotinoids family – on humans are also a source of concern but, in the absence of large-scale studies, its risks remain unclear.
The health impacts of acetamiprid on humans are not fully understood. In May 2024, the EU’s food safety agency (Efsa) gave the pesticide a favourable review but said there were "major uncertainties" about how toxic it is to the human brain. It called for "in-depth" research.
French health experts oppose bill that could reintroduce banned pesticides
Lack of medical advice
In an opinion column published in French newspaper Le Monde last week, patient associations and members of medical and scientific societies also called for the Duplomb law to be withdrawn "in the name of precaution".
They cited research carried out by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), which pointed to evidence of a link between exposure to pesticides and the occurrence of cancers and neurodegenerative, pulmonary and hormone-related disorders.
The signatories denounced the fact that no one representing the medical profession or the health ministry were invited to participate in the panel of 53 professionals called on to prepare the bill.
Pierre-Michel Périnaud, president of the Doctors' Pesticide Alert Network agrees with the need to proceed carefully.
"We are fearful of developmental disorders in children, loss of IQ, speech and memory disorders. Potentially [this product] is also implicated in breast cancer," he told French news agency AFP.
French health watchdog warns of pesticide dangers to young children
The Duplomb law also includes a section on the increase in maximum thresholds for pig and chicken farming and the authorisation of "mega-reservoirs" for storing water used for farm irrigation, which have been the target of public protest in recent years.
Left-wing parliamentarians and ecologists who brought the case to the Constitutional Council want it to judge whether or not the bill is in contradiction of the country's Environmental Charter.
This text, which lists the fundamental rights and duties relating to environmental protection, has been enshrined in the French constitution since 2005.
The council will also determine whether preventative measures against risks to biodiversity are provided for in the law.
Questioning the democratic process
In 2020, the Constitutional Council, a court, granted a temporary exemption for beetroot growers to use acetamiprid to combat aphid infestations. This drew protests from some environmentalists.
The court acknowledged the product's "impact on biodiversity" and the "risks for human health", but said that the exemption was permissible, because it was temporary.
Under the Duplomb law, the use of neonicotinoids is provided for in the event of a "serious threat compromising agricultural production" but without a time limit – with only a review clause provided for after three years.
Finally, the court will also consider whether the democratic process in getting the bill passed was undermined.
Mathilde Panot, president of the far-left France Unbowed party in the Assembly, called it "democratic denial" because no amendments from the deputies could be debated.
If the court approves the law, the left will call on Macron to request a second deliberation in parliament, as permitted by the constitution.
If the president refuses and enacts the law, the Socialists have announced they will attempt to repeal it with a new legislative text.
The court is expected to deliver its decision on Thursday.
