The latest decision by the French Constitutional Court, handed down on Thursday, August 4th, has once again ignited the conflict between rural France and the political establishment. The high court has blocked the key clause of the so-called Duplomb Law, which sought to reauthorize the use of acetamiprid, a pesticide banned in France since 2018 due to its impact on bees and other pollinators. However, the European Union approved it until 2033, and it is still used in several member states.
The rest of the law—including measures to speed up agricultural projects and irrigation infrastructure—will proceed. Still, the decision is yet another blow for the most affected producers, such as beet growers. Pressure from environmentalists, student associations, and left-wing parties—who mobilized more than two million signatures against the measure—outweighed the sector’s warnings about the consequences for production and supply.
For French farmers, the court ruling is not an isolated episode, but another chapter in a political agenda that multiplies environmental restrictions from Paris and Brussels without offering viable alternatives. The protests in May, when hundreds of tractors blocked access roads to Paris in so-called snail operations, reflect frustration that goes far beyond a single chemical product: the feeling of losing the ability to compete in their own market.
Agricultural producers argue that the problem is not just the domestic ban. It is the contradiction of imposing ever-stricter rules on European producers while trade agreements allow the massive entry of food from countries such as Brazil, Argentina, or Morocco, grown with pesticides and farming practices banned in the EU. The Mercosur deal or the influx of Brazilian soybeans are clear examples of how European farmers are forced to play with one hand tied behind their backs against competitors who do not abide by the same rules.
