It is a first since the creation, in 2020, of the online citizen petitions system in the National Assembly. On Saturday at 4 p.m., that claiming the repeal of the Duplomb law crossed the threshold of the 500,000 signatures. Massively relayed on social networks, this petition – launched on July 10 by a student, Eléonore Pattery – denounces “A scientific, ethical, environmental and health aberration”aimed in particular at the highly contested reintroduction of acetamipride, a pesticide of the family of neonicotinoids.
The crossing of this threshold does not result in repeal or review of the text. If the signatures come from at least 30 overseas departments or communities, the Conference of Presidents of the National Assembly may decide to organize a debate in public session. This debate will only relate to the petition itself, and not to the law adopted, which must still be promulgated by Emmanuel Macron and is the subject of a referral to the Constitutional Council by left-wing deputies.
Adopted definitively on July 8 by 316 votes to 223, the Duplo law, named after the Senator LR, which presented it as an answer to the agricultural crisis in January 2024. Thousands of farmers had taken up the street to denounce the accumulation of standards, the collapse of income and unfair competition. Supported by the government, the text was adopted thanks to the votes of the presidential majority and the extreme right (the RN-UDR alliance) for “Raise constraints” weighing on French agriculture.
But for his opponents, he acts a series of environmental declines: facilitation of intensive farms, acceleration of water storage projects, restrictions on public participation in environmental surveys. And above all, return of a prohibited pesticide.
Acetamipride, neonicotinoid insecticide prohibited in France since 2018 but still authorized in Europe until 2033, is presented by beet and hazelnut producers as the only solution to pests. However, he is accused of harming bees, accumulating in soils and groundwater, and pose risks to human health.
“It’s not a trivial product”explained on July 8 in Libération Christian Lannou, Deputy Director of Assistant Agriculture Research at the National Institute of Research for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE). Less toxic than other neonicotinoids, acetamipride remains an insecticide, designed to kill insects therefore. This pesticides attacks their nervous system by triggering hyperactivity in neurons, which can lead to disorientation, paralysis, and death. He does not spare bees, earthworms, birds or fish. Nor humans.
Presented as harmless by its defenders, this pesticides is indeed the subject of growing concern in the scientific world on human health. Several recent works alert its potential effects for the nervous system, fertility, prenatal development or a possible link with metabolism disorders, such as type 2 diabetes. In humans, molecule has been detected in urine, blood or brain fluid, including in sick children or new-weight newborn. In 2022, traces of the substance were found in samples taken from children with leukemia or cancer of the lymphatic system. If the data is still partial, the alert signals accumulate. As a result, at European level, acetamipride remains authorized but it is now under reinforced surveillance. This substance must be the subject of a complete review by 2033, as part of the evaluation process provided for all pesticides approved in the European Union.
Last September, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), responsible for assessing the health risks linked to food, the environment and the pesticides, recommended to divide the “Acceptable daily dose” acetamipride and its “Acute reference dose” (the maximum quantity that a consumer can ingest punctually without danger), due to “Legitimate concerns” and important scientific uncertainty.
On July 11, left -wing deputies seized the Constitutional Council, saying that the law was incompatible with environmental protection requirements and the right to health. According to them, the text would allow an immediate reintroduction of acetamipride in the event of “Serious threat compromising agricultural production”a vague concept, not defined by law. They also point to the lack of restriction on certain cultures, the absence of strict limit in time, and a simple review clause after three years, then each year.
In their appeal, they consider that this derogation contravenes two constitutional principles: the principle of precaution, which obliges to prevent serious environmental damage even in the event of scientific uncertainty, and the principle of non-regression, which prohibits returning back to advances in terms of environmental protection.
Another point of tension concerns the independence of ANSES, the agency responsible for assessing the toxicity of pesticides. A decree published in early July provides that it will have to give priority to certain agricultural uses defined by the Ministry of Agriculture. Clearly, it is the ministry’s requests that will go to the top of the battery. For the opposition, this amounts to placing the agency under guardianship. The agency assures that it “Will assess the consequences” of this measure.
The Constitutional Council must render its decision in the coming weeks.
