French government declines to propose removing acetamiprid derogation, defers to parliament

Corn crop being irrigated on the outskirts of the village of Meilhaud, in Puy-de-Dôme, July 16, 2026. MAXIME FRAISSE FOR "LE MONDE"

Expected by farmers and criticized by environmental defenders, the emergency agricultural bill returns to the Assembly on Monday, July 20. A controversial article allowing derogations for pesticide use makes its adoption uncertain.

After a long legislative journey, the text is to be submitted to a final vote in the Assembly late in the evening, then to the Senate on Tuesday. Deputies and senators agreed on Thursday on a common version in a joint committee (CMP). Its adoption remains uncertain, however, because the final copy contains several sensitive measures—mainly on pesticides and water—and divides the central bloc, up to the government.

Following a meeting organized at Matignon in the early afternoon by Sébastien Lecornu, the prime minister's entourage specified that the government did not intend to propose removing the derogation on acetamiprid, one of the contested pesticides in the bill, leaving Parliament to "decide" or "evolve" the compromise reached in the CMP.

The reintroduction of banned pesticides remains "the main issue that causes tension," acknowledged Monique Barbut on Saturday, opposed to the reintroduction of acetamiprid, in an interview granted to La Tribune dimanche. "Causing this text to fail through ideology, calculation, or fear would finish despairing farmers," judged Annie Genevard, in the JDD.

Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers: Emergency Agricultural Law: Parliamentary Agreement to Favor the Reintroduction of Banned Pesticides and Water Storage

"Danger of Death"

"It is urgent that it be voted on and applied," but "out of 78 articles, there is one that raises questions" and puts the text "in danger of death," emphasized Renaissance deputy Prisca Thevenot, shortly before the meeting at Matignon. "Acetamiprid must not appear in this text," insisted the former minister, close to the leader of Renaissance, Gabriel Attal.

"If there had been a pure and simple reauthorization [of acetamiprid], the government would have filed a deletion amendment. But that is not what the text resulting from the CMP provides," emphasized Sébastien Lecornu's entourage after the meeting. He further specified that "the ban remains the principle," and that the text "only opens a possibility of derogation, limited to hazelnuts."

Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers: Emergency Agricultural Law: "This Text Enshrines the Absolute Primacy of Agricultural Water Uses Over the Needs of Other Users"

He instead announced the filing of two amendments:

• One to extend to six months the deadline given to the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) to rule on pesticides, currently set at two months.
• The other to delete Article 6 bis A of the text, considered contrary to the Constitution. The latter "conditions the reduction of withdrawable water volumes on the prior construction of water storage structures," "manifestly undermining the requirements for protecting water resources," Matignon estimated.

A year ago, the Duplomb law providing for the return of acetamiprid sparked strong opposition, before this provision was censored by the Constitutional Council.

"Deadly Turn"