French lawmakers from the Rassemblement national (RN), La France Insoumise (LFI), and the Ecologists have voted to ban the import of food produced using pesticides prohibited in France, adopting a significantly tougher version of a government-backed agricultural emergency bill.
During a night session in the National Assembly, the three-party bloc pushed through an amendment rewriting an article of the proposed agricultural emergency law. The revised text prohibits the “introduction,” “import,” and “marketing” of food, agricultural goods, and animal feed produced with substances banned in France on health or environmental grounds.
The original version of the article had sought to give the agriculture minister powers to block imports containing pesticide residues banned at the European Union level, aiming to address concerns over unfair competition. However, supporters of the amendment argued the measure did not go far enough.
Agriculture minister Annie Genevard opposed the rewrite, warning that it would likely violate EU single market rules. She cautioned that the measure could create “false hope” among consumers and would not withstand legal scrutiny. Despite her objections, the amendment was adopted with backing from RN, LFI, and Ecologist deputies, outnumbering the government camp. The Socialist Party also opposed the move, arguing it would be ineffective and incompatible with European law.
