Agriculture: Parliament adopts the Duplomb-Menonville law and the conditional reintroduction of a pesticide

Parliament definitively adopted the Duplomb-Menonville agricultural law on Tuesday, which divided the National Assembly, particularly over its measure for the derogatory reintroduction of a neonicotinoid pesticide.

Initiated by Senators Laurent Duplomb (LR) and Franck Menonville (UDI, centre), the bill adopted by 316 votes to 223 during a tense final session on Tuesday in the Assembly, is presented as one of the responses to the anger of farmers in the winter of 2024.

Called for by the leading agricultural union, the FNSEA, "to put an end to over-transpositions between France and France," and its allies, the Young Farmers, this law has been criticized by the Confédération Paysanne, France's third-largest agricultural union.

"The passage of this law confirms that a majority of elected officials continue to promote an agro-industrial model that in no way meets the expectations of the farming community. All the anger that brought us to the streets last year was to demand a decent income," reacted Fanny Métrat, spokesperson for the Confédération Paysanne.

The most divisive measure in the text provides for the reintroduction, by way of derogation and under conditions, of acetamiprid, a pesticide from the neonicotinoid family.

Banned in France, but authorized elsewhere in Europe until 2033, the effects of acetamiprid in humans are a source of concern, even if the risks remain uncertain due to a lack of large-scale studies.

The product is particularly in demand by beet and hazelnut producers, who believe they have no alternative to combat pests and are facing unfair competition. Conversely, beekeepers warn of it as a "bee killer."

The text provides for a reintroduction without establishing a deadline. However, it includes a clause for review by the supervisory board, three years later, and then annually, to verify that the authorization criteria are still met.

Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard (LR) defended this text to allow agriculture to "take its rightful place in the ecological transition without being its collateral victim." LR rapporteur Julien Dive highlighted the safeguards in the text and estimated that the areas concerned would reach a maximum of 500,000 hectares, or "1.7% of agricultural land."

The French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRAE) "is already identifying the sectors concerned" and "its conclusions are expected in the autumn," according to Ms. Genevard.

But the left and environmentalists are firmly opposed to the text. It's a "major setback," said Socialist MP Mélanie Thomin, her group denouncing "a new stage in the right's reactionary offensive against ecology."

This law "legalizes deadly pesticides, organizes the privatization of water resources, and exempts it from all ordinary ecological guarantees," criticized Aurélie Trouvé, LFI president of the National Assembly's Economic Affairs Committee. The MP criticized "a treaty of submission to agrochemicals."

"We will never vote for this law. We would rather feed it," echoed her colleague Manon Meunier, who announced she would submit a bill to "improve recognition and compensation for pesticide victims." "The government has lost the battle for public opinion. You have lost the scientists, those affected by pesticides, and beekeepers," declared Green Party MP and former minister Delphine Batho.

Conversely, the vast majority of the government coalition and the RN-UDR alliance voted in favor. The Macronist group Ensemble pour la République voted two-thirds in favor (14 against, 10 abstentions). Nine MoDem deputies and three Horizons deputies also voted against. "This text is certainly a victory, but a partial victory," said Hervé de Lépinau (RN), postponing a thorough review of farmers' working conditions until "2027."

The law provides "new solutions to help our farmers," said Macron supporter Jean-Luc Fugit. This text "is ultimately neither a caricature that some would like to make of it, nor a miracle solution," assessed Eric Martineau (MoDem). The text also includes measures to facilitate water storage for irrigation, in a context of water scarcity linked to climate change.

But the left is criticizing a "maladaptation." Just as it is protesting against measures to facilitate the expansion or creation of intensive livestock buildings. Rebellious, Green, and Socialist parliamentarians have announced that they will file appeals with the Constitutional Council, some believing that the law contravenes the principles of precaution and non-environmental regression.