French parliamentary committee reaches compromise on agricultural emergency bill, includes clause to reinstate two banned pesticides

Paris — Deputies and senators reached a compromise on Thursday, July 16, on the agricultural emergency bill, several measures of which—concerning water management and the reintroduction of banned pesticides—remain contested, multiple members of the joint committee (CMP) told Le Monde.

After more than six hours of closed-door debates, fourteen parliamentarians from both chambers produced a common text on the bill, which was submitted in response to farmers' protests earlier this year.

Final Votes Scheduled

The text was approved by the right and the National Rally (8 votes in favor), with Macronist deputies abstaining and the left opposing (4 votes against). It must now be submitted for a final vote in the National Assembly on Monday evening and in the Senate on Tuesday, with a view to final adoption.

Whether it will secure a majority among deputies remains uncertain, as the final version contains several sensitive measures introduced mostly by the Senate, particularly concerning pesticides and water.

Political Reactions

"The right-wing senators dictated their law," said Aurélie Trouvé, a "rebellious" deputy and CMP member, on social network X.

Led by LR elected official Laurent Duplomb from Haute-Loire—known for an anti-obstruction text adopted last year despite sharp criticism—the Senate right succeeded in imposing several of its markers.

Key Controversial Measures

Pesticide Reintroduction

The compromise text grants the health agency Anses the power to reintroduce, on a derogatory basis, two pesticides banned in France but authorized in the European Union:

• Acetamiprid
• Flupyradifurone

These would be permitted for a handful of struggling sectors.

"The negotiations conducted allowed for a consensus adoption on the subject... So only scientists will decide independently, not politicians," said Les Républicains deputy Julien Dive on X, expressing satisfaction.

However, this agreement on insecticides places the central bloc in an awkward position, a year after the controversy sparked by the Duplomb law, which proposed a similar measure ultimately censored by the Constitutional Council. In the CMP, Macronist deputies abstained on this point. On Thursday morning, Sébastien Lecornu's entourage warned of "the risk that the entire text would be rejected in the National Assembly after the CMP" if the measure were maintained.

Water Management

The text also includes a highly criticized section on water management and governance, deeply reworked in the Senate. While senators accepted some concessions—such as on the definition of "wetlands," cradles of biodiversity—several contentious measures remain in the final text, including:

• Modification of the oversight of water agencies
• Doubling of water storage capacity for agricultural purposes by 2035

Next Steps

If the CMP text is rejected on Monday or Tuesday during the final votes, a new reading of the text would be necessary in both chambers. The left has already promised to refer certain measures to the Constitutional Council.