In two rulings dated May 12, 2023, the Montpellier Administrative Court annulled the two September 30, 2020 decisions by which the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) renewed the marketing authorizations for the complete glyphosate-based formulations marketed by Syngenta: Touchdown Système 4 and Touchdown Forêt.

After stating in its decisions that "It is for the judge [...] to verify that the application of the precautionary principle is justified, and then to ensure the reality of the risk assessment procedures implemented and the absence of manifest error of application" (p.5), the Administrative Court noted that in this case, several aspects had not been assessed in the absence of data submitted or data available, particularly for certain risks concerning the impact on bees and other pollinators. Furthermore, no assessment was transmitted by Syngenta concerning risks to non-target terrestrial vertebrates and arthropods via trophic interactions, despite the fact that the regulation of December 12, 2017 renewing the approval of the active substance glyphosate expressly requires particular attention to this aspect. Lastly, contrary to what ANSES maintained, it is not necessary to wait for the establishment of a standardized methodology at European level to carry out the risk assessment for the diversity and abundance of non-target terrestrial vertebrates and arthropods via trophic interactions.

Thus, the Administrative Court rules that "in the absence of the implementation of a full assessment procedure, and regardless of the precautionary measures imposed, the precautionary principle has not been respected and the contested decisions disregard EU Regulation n°2017/2327 of December 12, 2017 concerning the renewal of the approval of the active substance glyphosate." (p.6).

According to Attorneys Hermine Baron and François Lafforgue: "These decisions mark a turning point in the litigation of marketing authorizations, which will no longer be able to be issued without a full risk assessment, in light of the precautionary principle."