French Senate votes to reintroduce banned insecticides despite government opposition
In an overnight vote, the French Senate defied the executive to approve the restricted return of two neonicotinoid insecticides banned domestically but permitted elsewhere in the EU, reopening a fierce political battle that threatens the entire emergency agriculture bill.
Senate vote defies government
On the night of 29 to 30 June 2026, the French Senate voted 183 to 129 to allow the restricted reintroduction of two insecticides banned in France but authorized elsewhere in the EU. The vote came during examination of the emergency agriculture bill and was pushed by right-wing and centrist senators, against the government's explicit opposition.
We must not run the risk that this text be shelved. We would not be forgiven for it on the farms.
The products at the center of the storm
The measure covers acetamipride, a neonicotinoid toxic to biodiversity and potentially to human health, and flupyradifurone. Both are prohibited for use in France but remain legal in other European countries. The bill's proponents argue that the ban leaves French growers at a competitive disadvantage, especially for struggling sectors such as hazelnuts, sugar beet, apples, and cherries.
We are the only ones to ban these molecules in Europe for more than ten years. We are slowly killing our French fruit production, only to end up massively importing those same fruits produced with those same molecules.
Environmental and political backlash
Left-wing senators and environmental groups condemned the vote. Senator Daniel Salmon called it "a gigantic renunciation", while socialist Jean-Claude Tissot spoke of "an unacceptable step backward". The debate revives a political firestorm from 2025, when a petition against the initial Duplomb law gathered more than two million signatures. The law, named after Senator Laurent Duplomb, was partially struck down by the Constitutional Council last year.
Government fears for the bill's survival
Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard warned that the pesticide clause could sink the entire emergency farm bill, which the National Assembly adopted in early June with support ranging from the presidential coalition to the far right.
What I fear is that this issue is so virulent that it could take the whole text down with it.
The bill now heads to a joint committee of deputies and senators in mid-July, where the pesticide reintroduction will be one of the most contentious points.
