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Published: February 9, 2026 at 11:09 a.m. – Modified: February 9, 2026 at 11:12 a.m.
Controversial pesticide reauthorization sparks protests across France.
A renewed push to reauthorize certain banned pesticides is igniting fierce debate and public outcry in France, with demonstrations already underway and more planned this week. Senator Laurent Duplomb has reintroduced legislation seeking approval for two insecticides currently prohibited, used in the cultivation of beets, hazelnuts, and cherries.
“We do not take into account the petitions, nor the scientists”
The “Cancer Anger” collective views the bill as a direct affront to democratic principles. Mireille Lemoine, a member of the collective in Sarthe, stated: “We do not take into account the petitions, nor the scientists… There is a gap between scientific knowledge and regulatory decisions. You should know that the National Council of the Order of Physicians takes a position against this law. What matters most is profitability, at the cost of public health!”
We are seeing an increase in childhood cancers, cancers in people under 35 years old. We are heading towards a cancer epidemic, it’s hard to say and hear but it’s the reality of things.“
Senator Duplomb defends his proposal by citing France’s food sovereignty, arguing that French producers of beets and hazelnuts are at a disadvantage compared to European neighbors who are permitted to use these pesticides. He contends that without reauthorization, these crops could disappear from French farmland.
There is “alternatives to intensive agriculture”
Mireille Lemoine counters that this approach is fundamentally flawed. “In our opinion, we do not necessarily have to go for the lowest bidder, we must better move towards improving the quality of life and the environment, our soil and water. There are solutions, alternatives to intensive agriculture. We still have agriculture that does not use pesticides, and that works. It would be much more coherent to ban any product coming from countries that use pesticides banned on our territory. This would be logical and respectful of our farmers.“
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A law harmful to the general interest
Stéphane Galais, an organic farmer in Ille-et-Vilaine and national spokesperson for the Confédération paysanne, describes the proposed law, dubbed “Duplomb 2,” as anachronistic, dangerous, and ultimately detrimental to all farmers. “The issues are on the income of farmers, on the transfer of farms, on how we deal with global warming and the loss of biodiversity, it is not about accelerating on all-out competition between farmers, and it is certainly not by rolling back on environmental achievements that we are going to ensure the income of farmers.
And above all, This is very bad news for society as a whole, for health, and for the environment. It is not possible to have laws that are so harmful to the general interest..“
Beet cultivation impacted by “the absence of market regulation and freezes”
Stéphane Galais argues that concerns about yields are a pretext to prop up a failing system. While Senator Duplomb claims that French sugar beet cultivation would be unsustainable without access to insecticides like acetamiprid, Galais dismisses this as a falsehood. “This year, there was a significant, almost exceptional, production without insecticide, and if we look at the developments in production over recent years, what impacts the sector is the absence of market regulation, and the spring frosts.. It is not with a return of acetamiprid, which kills bees, which is harmful to health, that we are going to solve the problem of peasants’ income, that is not true.”
The peasant confederation, along with various collectives and citizens, plans to rally this Wednesday (February 11) in front of the National Assembly, demanding the withdrawal of the bill.
