Beekeepers and environmentalists in France reacted furiously after parliament approved a bill reauthorising two banned pesticides that scientists say can poison bees. The law, passed on Tuesday, allows France’s food and environmental safety agency, Anses, to grant waivers authorising the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone in struggling farm sectors and under exceptional circumstances.
The pesticides, which are 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. Producers have argued that they can no longer compete with European rivals.
Why are beekeepers so alarmed?
Beekeepers say the decision threatens bee populations that have already been weakened by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne, greater Paris, said the reaction was one of deep frustration.
“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 a threat both to the sector and to biodiversity more widely.
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”.
He warned that the risk to bees included high death rates and lower harvests, and said the reauthorisation was incomprehensible after decades of opposition from beekeepers.
For bees, the risk was “very high mortality rates and reduced harvests”, . “It’s just incomprehensible these pesticides have been reauthorised. We’ve been fighting them for 30 years. It’s scandalous, irrational and irresponsible.”
Scientific studies have established that acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid with powerful neurotoxic effects, can poison bees by affecting their foraging capacity and memory. A 2024 study suggested flupyradifurone could be lethal to some honeybees.
According to agriculture ministry figures, honey production in France halved between the mid-1990s, when neonicotinoids were introduced, and the mid-2010s, although habitat loss and climate breakdown were also contributing factors.
Bouguet said France had once served as a model for other countries when it banned neonicotinoids, and she argued that scientific research showed the pesticides harmed not just insects but soil ecosystems, with possible effects on human health too.
“Bees are the canary in the environmental coalmine,” she said. “Their health is a huge indicator of what’s happening in the natural world. Protecting bees means protecting life. Protecting life means protecting our future.”
How did politicians and campaigners respond?
Greenpeace France said the country’s centrist government and its rightwing allies in parliament were ignoring science, health, the environment and public opinion. It described the legislation as deeply concerning and a disgrace.
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 setback too many for the environment and resigned on Wednesday before later being persuaded to stay on after meeting President Emmanuel Macron.
France’s environment minister, Monique Barbut, said the legislation was “one environmental setback too many” and submitted her resignation on Wednesday, but was later persuaded to stay on after meeting President Emmanuel Macron.
Barbut, who previously headed the conservation charity WWF France, said after the vote that she had sought to defend forests, water, air, soils and biodiversity. She said she wanted to protect the silence of forests, the quality of water, the purity of air, the richness of soils and the diversity of life.
Barbut, who previously headed the conservation charity WWF France, said after the vote that she had sought to defend “the silence of our forests, the quality of our water, the purity of our air, the richness of our soils and the diversity of life”.
She said she had resigned because opposition to those goals had become too powerful, though she later reversed her decision after Macron gave her guarantees on climate action goals.
She said she was resigning because “the forces opposing these goals have become so powerful that I can no longer carry this ambition through”, but reversed her decision after Macron gave her “guarantees” on climate action goals.
By contrast, France’s largest farmers’ union, the FNSEA, welcomed the bill’s approval as a major milestone and a victory for French farmers. Agriculture minister Annie Genevard said it provided growers with real and tangible solutions.
However, France’s largest farmers’ union, the FNSEA, welcomed the bill’s approval as “a major milestone and a victory for French farmers”, while the agriculture minister, Annie Genevard, said it brought “real and tangible solutions” to growers.
What do farmers and beekeepers say the law changes?
The law allows Anses to grant waivers for acetamiprid and flupyradifurone in struggling farm sectors and only in exceptional circumstances. Genevard said the health agency would authorise their use only in certain areas for limited periods and only when there was no impact on human health or the environment, an emergency situation and no alternative.
Genevard, the agriculture minister, has said the health agency would only allow the pesticides’ use in certain areas for limited periods and when there was “no impact on human health or the environment, an emergency situation … and no alternative”.
Supporters say the pesticides are needed to fight aphid-borne diseases that can destroy sugar beet, apples, hazelnuts and cherries, while critics say the risks to pollinators and ecosystems are too high.
Christian Pons, the UNAF president, said the law claimed to defend French food sovereignty while sacrificing beekeepers in order to save other sectors, such as hazelnut production.
Christian Pons, the UNAF president, told reporters the law “claims to defend French food sovereignty, but since when is it acceptable to destroy one sector – that of beekeepers – in order to save another, for example that of hazelnut trees?”
Yves Delaunay, a beekeeper from the western Vendée department, described severe losses after neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s. He said his honey production fell from 80kg per hive to 5kg, and that his colonies collapsed.
Yves Delaunay, a beekeeper from the western Vendée department, said that after neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s, his honey production “went from 80kg per hive to 5kg” and the colonies “collapsed”.
“In just a few days, we went from 70,000 bees to 20,000,” he . “They were disoriented, unable to return to the hive. We found them dead everywhere. It was a huge loss.”
What happens next?
The senate backed the bill by 214 votes to 111 on Tuesday after it received lower house approval. The proposal to authorise the two pesticides was inserted late in the legislative process to help secure passage in the right-leaning upper house.
Last year, the French parliament passed a bill reauthorising acetamiprid despite a petition against it that gathered more than 2m signatures. That bill was later struck down, with the decision citing a failure to comply with France’s environmental charter.
The French parliament last year passed a bill reauthorising acetamiprid despite a petition against it that gathered more than 2m signatures. That bill was , which said it did not abide by France’s environmental charter.
The beekeeping union, environmental groups and left-leaning members of parliament say they will refer the new law to the constitutional council, arguing that it fails to provide adequate safeguards for human health and the environment.
The beekeeping union , environmental groups and left-leaning members of parliament have said they will refer the new law to the constitutional council on the grounds that its fails to provide adequate safeguards for human health and the environment.
Beekeepers said France had previously been a model for countries considering restrictions on neonicotinoids. They argued that protecting bees was essential not only for pollinators but for wider ecosystems and the future of life itself.
