French anger erupts over bee-killing pesticide

A student-initiated petition against a chemical deadly to bees has sparked a grassroots movement in France that commentators say might be asign of people’s growing frustration with political elites.

- LUCIE AUBOURG CLARA GUILLARD ANNA SMOLCHENKO

On July 10, a 23-year-old master’s student launched a petition urging the French government to drop legislation allowing the reintroduction of acetamiprid, a pesticide that is harmful to ecosystems but popular with many farmers in Europe.

Banned in France since 2018, the chemical remains legal in the European Union, and proponents say French farmers need it to help them compete.

Support for the petition spread like wildfire, with university lecturers, actors, left-wing lawmakers and star chefs backing it.

Ithad racked up 1.9 million signatures by last Thursday.

The controversial legislation is dubbed the Duplomb law, after its author, Laurent Duplomb, a senator for the right-wing Republicans party.

The bill was adopted on July 8, but without a proper debate, to bypass gridlock in a bitterly divided parliament.

Signatories of the petition have urged President Emmanuel Macron notto sign it into law.

The petition calls the legislation a “frontal attack on public health”

But supporters say their frustration goes beyond environmental concerns. Commentators say it may be a sign of exasperation with deadlock in a hung parliament anda desire to have a greater say in political matters.