Uproar in France over reintroduction of bee-harming pesticides

France's parliament on Tuesday backed a controversial bill authorising farmers to use two bee-harming pesticides despite an outcry from environmentalists and left-wing politicians.

Ahead of the vote, aides to Environment Minister Monique Barbut said she could resign if the Senate approved the reintroduction of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone.

Proponents say French sugar beet, apple and hazelnut farmers need the insecticides -- forbidden in France since 2018 and 2019 respectively -- to help them compete with their European counterparts. The pesticides are allowed in the European Union.

Opponents argue they are dangerous to bees and human health.

On Tuesday evening, the right-leaning Senate backed the bill by 214 votes to 111. The National Assembly approved the legislation early Tuesday.

"Let us be proud of the work accomplished," said senator Laurent Duplomb.

The vote came after the Constitutional Council, the country's highest court, last year struck down a provision in another bill trying to reintroduce acetamiprid, saying it posed risks to human health, after more than two million people signed a petition against it.

That bill was championed by Duplomb.

"The government and its allies are trampling on science, health, the environment, and the will of the people," said Greenpeace after the National Assembly passed the bill.

Henri Clement, of the French Beekeeping Union, told regional media outlet Ici Gard Lozere the measure was "absolutely catastrophic".

Research has found acetamiprid can poison honeybees, affecting their foraging capacity and memory, while a 2024 study suggested flupyradifurone could be lethal to some bees.

Most leftists in the lower house this week voted against the reintroduction of the two pesticides, but backing from the far right and many centrists meant it passed.

The left has said it would appeal to the Constitutional Council if the Senate approved the measure.

Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard has defended the bill as necessary to address discontent among farmers after protests this winter.

She has stressed health authorities would only approve use of the pesticides in certain areas for limited periods "on the condition there is no impact on human health or on the environment, there is an emergency situation" and "there is no alternative".