France adopts law banning controversial bee-killing insecticide

ISTANBUL

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday promulgated the revised Duplomb Law, blocking the reintroduction of a controversial bee-killing pesticide, according to local media.

The government's official journal published the modified law that bans a bee-killing pesticide from being reintroduced after a petition signed by more than two million people.

The promulgation came after France’s Constitutional Council on Thursday struck down a key provision of the Duplomb Law that would have allowed the conditional use of neonicotinoid pesticides, ruling it unconstitutional due to environmental and health concerns.

The council censored the article, permitting derogations from the national ban on phytopharmaceutical products containing neonicotinoids, specifically acetamiprid.

Though still legal elsewhere in the EU, acetamiprid is known to harm biodiversity and has been strongly opposed by environmental groups.

Some beet and hazelnut producers had pushed for its reintroduction, arguing it was necessary to protect crops.

However, left-wing lawmakers, who referred the law to the court, said the move violated the French Environmental Charter, which guarantees the precautionary principle and the right to a healthy environment.

The Duplomb Law has been central to a heated debate in France and prompted a student-led petition that achieved remarkable success.