Demonstrators hold a banner reading "feed not destroy" during a protest against the so-called 'Duplomb law' agricultural bill, which aims to re-authorize banned pesticides in front of the Luxembourg Gardens, in Paris, on June 30, 2025. DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP
France's top constitutional authority ruled, on Thursday, August 7, that a move to allow the reintroduction of a pesticide harmful to the environment was unconstitutional. The so-called "Duplomb law" sparked public anger for permitting the renewed use of acetamiprid – a chemical known to be toxic to bees and other creatures, but which some European farmers have come to rely on.
A student-led petition against the bill garnered more than two million signatures after lawmakers adopted it on July 8, with the bill's critics saying it had been rushed through a divided lower house of parliament without a proper debate.
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Success of French anti-pesticide petition revives interest in the political tool
