France has reauthorized two pesticides that many scientists and beekeepers say pose serious risks to pollinators, reigniting a fight that has simmered for decades.
For France's beekeeping communities, the decision amounts to more than a policy shift. It is being seen as a threat to livelihoods, food systems, and ecosystems already under pressure.
What happened?
This week, parliament passed a bill that would let Anses, France's food and environmental safety agency, grant exemptions for acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, according to The Guardian. France had previously banned both pesticides nationally, even though they are still allowed under European Union rules.
Under those exemptions, the chemicals could be used to fight aphid-borne diseases in crops such as sugar beet, apples, hazelnuts, and cherries.
The measure passed the Senate 214 to 111 after already clearing the lower house.
Backers of the legislation, including the FNSEA, France's largest farmers' union, said French growers need help keeping up with competitors elsewhere in Europe. Agriculture minister Annie Genevard defended the law as offering "real and tangible solutions" and said authorizations would be reserved for situations with "no impact on human health or the environment."
TCD Picks » Good Store Spotlight
Get 10% off your next purchase with code TCD10
Beekeepers and environmental groups responded with outrage.
"There are no words to describe the frustration," said Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne near Paris. "Bee populations have already been badly compromised by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. And now this."
Henri Clément, a spokesperson for the French beekeeping association, UNAF, called the move "an absolute disaster for our sector, and for biodiversity as a whole."
Why does it matter?
The stakes go beyond honey production because pollinators are central to food growing. Clément warned that the risks include "very high mortality rates and reduced harvests," according to The Guardian.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
Research has associated acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid, with bee poisoning as well as memory and foraging problems, while a 2024 study suggested flupyradifurone may be lethal to some honeybees.
Agriculture ministry data shows a major decline in French honey output: production fell by about half between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s, a span that overlapped with the spread of neonicotinoids.
Healthy pollinator populations support resilient farms, local beekeepers, and broader biodiversity.
What's being done?
Opponents, including UNAF, environmental groups, and left-leaning lawmakers, say they will take the law to France's constitutional council, arguing that it does not do enough to protect human health and the environment. They also note that last year a bill reauthorizing acetamiprid was annulled by the constitutional council for failing to comply with France's environmental charter.
After the vote, France's environment minister, Monique Barbut, offered her resignation, calling it "one environmental setback too many," but stayed in office after meeting President Emmanuel Macron, The Guardian reported.
For Greenpeace France, the legislation showed officials were "trampling on science, health, the environment and the clear will of the people."
Still, the larger battle will likely play out in the courts, through regulators, and under growing public pressure over what kind of food system France wants to build.
"Bees are the canary in the environmental coalmine," Bouguet said. "Protecting bees means protecting life. Protecting life means protecting our future."
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
