Mobilizations in Marseille, Valenciennes, Saint-Nazaire, Paris and even Besançon... A coalition of French and European NGOs are calling for demonstrations, Saturday October 10 and Sunday October 11, in around fifty French cities, to say "no thank you!" to the draft European regulation entitled "Omnibus X". Greenpeace, Cancer Anger, the Collective in Support of Victims of Pesticides in the West, the Peasant Confederation, Avenir Santé Environnement and Médecins du Monde are opposed to this text currently being negotiated before an agreement "by the end of 2026", according to the Council of the European Union.
This text provides in particular to extend the duration of approval of the use of pesticides. Via this European legislative package proposed last December, the European Commission intends to "rationalize and simplify legislation relating to food and animal feed" with in particular "improved authorization renewal procedures for pesticides, biocides and animal feed additives". Enough to “result in administrative cost savings of almost a billion euros per year”.
“A deadly setback for everyone’s health”
The draft Brussels regulation widely worries NGOs. “It’s a Duplomb law to the power of 10,” compared Jean-François Corty, president of Médecins du monde, Tuesday October 6, in reference to the law which initially authorized the reintroduction of pesticides banned in France. According to Greenpeace, “the authorization periods for pesticides would be greatly extended” or even “unlimited”. According to Générations futures, 49 “dangerous” pesticides, including glyphosate and acetamiprid, would be affected.
The text also proposes the extension of the grace period, a period during which the use of an initially banned pesticide is tolerated, while the agricultural sectors adapt. “This means that for three years, instead of a year and a half, we will continue to spread dangerous pesticides in our environment,” explained Pierre Sujobert, hematologist at the Hospices Civiles de Lyon, on France Inter. The NGOs also denounce the "tacit approval of the use of a pesticide if the State does not respond within three months" as well as the "loss of national sovereignty with automatic authorization in all member states once a pesticide is authorized in one of the EU countries", summarizes France Nature Environnement (FNE).
“The only progress in this text could be the possibility of lowering, under conditions, the maximum limits of pesticide residues to technical zero for imported products, treated with pesticides banned in the EU,” adds the association.
“The proposed measures take us back decades, undoing current imperfect but hard-won protections on pesticide use.”
The NGO coalition
in a press release
“If it were voted on, this text would very concretely strengthen the exposure of our bodies, ecosystems, our food and our territories to dangerous substances”, summarize the associations in their call for mobilization. During the press conference, Mélanie, suffering from cancer and member of the Cancer Anger collective in Lot-et-Garonne, denounced "a deadly setback for everyone's health".
“Cancer is not a personal tragedy, it is linked to political choices.”
Mélanie, from the Cancer Anger collective in Lot-et-Garonne
during a press conference
NGOs also fear a decline in the precautionary principle. “We already find traces of pesticides everywhere: in surface water, nature reserves, our blood and our urine. Scientific research shows that exposure to these toxic substances is associated with an increased risk of diseases such as cancer and Parkinson's disease,” highlights Professor Martina Vijver, at the origin of a letter sent by more than 500 researchers to Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament.
