France’s parliament passed a law on Tuesday allowing the food and environmental safety agency Anses to grant waivers for two neonicotinoid pesticides, acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, to fight aphid-borne diseases that damage sugar beet, apples, hazelnuts and cherries. Beekeepers called the move “scandalous, irrational and irresponsible,” warning of very high bee mortality and reduced honey harvests; UNAF spokesperson Henri Clément said the measure is “an absolute disaster for our sector, and for biodiversity as a whole.” Scientific studies cited in reporting show acetamiprid can impair bees’ foraging and memory, and a 2024 study suggested flupyradifurone could be lethal to some honeybees. Greenpeace France condemned the law as “trampling on science, health, the environment and the clear will of the people.” France’s environment minister Monique Barbut submitted her resignation after the vote but stayed on following a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron. The farmers’ union FNSEA and agriculture minister Annie Genevard praised the bill, calling it a victory that provides “real and tangible solutions” for growers. France’s agriculture ministry figures show national honey production halved between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s, a period that followed the introduction of neonicotinoids.
