PRESS RELEASE

Paris, May 22, 2018. Glyphosate ban in France within three years: faced with the government’s reversal, more than 30 civil society organisations are launching a petition.

Emmanuel Macron committed last November to ban glyphosate in France “within three years at the latest”, after the EU decision to extend the authorisation of the world’s best-selling herbicide by five years.

However, this objective has not yet been incorporated into the draft law on agriculture and food, which is currently being debated in the National Assembly. Civil society organizations are concerned about what appears to be a backpedalling on the part of France and are launching a common petition for the President’s commitment to be kept. Almost 40,000 citizens have already signed this appeal.

The draft Law on Agriculture and Food gives the opportunity to implement President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to ban glyphosate in France by the end of 2020. However, the government seems to be back-pedalling and, to date, this objective has not been incorporated into the text of the bill.

Since the ban on glyphosate in France was lacking from the first version of the law, several MPs tabled amendments to reinstate it, but these initiatives did not pass the Economic Affairs Committee’s barrier. Indeed, even the amendment proposed by the rapporteur, Jean-Baptiste Moreau, was withdrawn due to the staunch opposition from the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Stéphane Travert.

For the co-signing organizations, this is unacceptable.

Glyphosate was classified as a probable human carcinogen in 2015 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization.

It is essential that the opportunity offered by the draft Agriculture and Food Law is not missed. The organisations (listed below) are therefore launching today a petition to ensure that the precautionary principle is abided and that France leaves glyphosate as announced, with a support plan adapted for farmers.

Note to editors :
Common Petition (in French): France must respect its commitment to phase out glyphosate within three years. You can sign and distribute this petition to protect farmers and the public from glyphosate!

Open letter (in French): 34 organisations call on Emmanuel Macron to ban glyphosate without delay (October 2017)

Signing organizations : foodwatch, Générations Futures, Greenpeace, FNH, Agir pour l’Environnement, Les Amis de la Terre, Justice Pesticides, LPO, Fédération Artisans du Monde, ATTAC France, UFC-Que Choisir, Confédération Paysanne, Collectif de soutien aux victimes des pesticides de l’Ouest, Bio Consom’acteurs, Bloom, Réseau Environnement Santé (RES), Terre d’abeilles, Syndicat National d’apiculture, Solidaires, Miramap, Commerce équitable France, Union Nationale de l’Apiculture Française, WeMove.eu, WECF, La Ligue contre le cancer, Alerte des médecins sur les pesticides, Réseau Action Climat, CCFD-Terre-Solidaire, France Nature Environnement, WWF