PARIS (AP) — France’s minister for the environmental transition has announced she is stepping down following the passage of a controversial emergency agriculture bill that temporarily lifts restrictions on two pesticides scientists have linked to harm in bee populations.
Monique Barbut, who took office last October, said she plans to deliver her resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.
French lawmakers passed the legislation on Tuesday, giving the French food, environmental and occupational health agency the authority to temporarily permit the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone for a handful of struggling agricultural sectors.
In a social media post, Barbut explained her decision: “Over the past nine months, I have defended those who do not march, who do not vote, and who do not shout: the silence of our forests, the quality of our water, the purity of our air, the richness of our soils, and the diversity of life. Today, I must acknowledge that the forces opposing these goals have become so powerful that I no longer have the means to carry this ambition through.”
Both chemicals belong to a family of agricultural substances called neonicotinoids. While they are permitted under European Union regulations, France has maintained its own domestic ban on them. Under the new bill, their use would be allowed specifically for sugar beet, apple, hazelnut and cherry crops.
Barbut also expressed frustration with how the legislative process unfolded. “Contrary to the commitments that had been made to me, the government prevented any debate on removing this provision,” she said.
Her resignation comes roughly a year after France’s highest court struck down a key portion of a separate farming law that would have reinstated acetamiprid, which France banned in 2018 due to its documented harm to bees and other pollinating insects. The court ruled at the time that the measure failed to adequately protect the environment and future generations.
