Parliament approves time-limited exemptions for two controversial types of insecticide

Paris – July 21, 2026: The French Parliament has finally passed the law on securing and protecting agriculture. This means that time-limited exemptions may now be requested under strict conditions for two pesticides banned in France, acetamiprid and flupyradifurone. The provision immediately triggered fierce opposition from beekeepers, environmental groups, and the parliamentary left.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved the bill negotiated between the two chambers by 214 votes to 111. Earlier, the National Assembly had adopted the conclusions of the joint committee in the early hours of July 21 by 296 votes to 224, with 41 abstentions. This completes the legislative process, although the provision may still be subject to constitutional review.

The core of the provision is not a general reauthorization of these substances. Anses, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, may authorize exceptions to the French ban on a case-by-case basis. The conditions are that no sufficient alternatives exist for the crop concerned and that no serious risk to human health or serious and irreversible environmental damage is expected.

Each authorization is valid for one year and may be extended a maximum of two times. The law gives Anses a two-month deadline to make its decision. Uses are also limited. Flupyradifurone may be considered, in particular, for sugar beet as well as cherry and apple cultivation. According to the parliamentary compromise, acetamiprid is intended primarily for hazelnut cultivation.

Supporters justify the measure by citing the competitive disadvantage suffered by French producers. Both active substances remain approved at the European level, while stricter national rules apply in France. Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard and the rapporteur for the governing majority therefore stressed that expert decisions should be made not by politicians but by the independent body Anses. The exemptions remain strictly supplementary to the ban.

For the beekeeping sector, however, this mechanism offers no reassurance. Both active substances belong to the neonicotinoid group or have a similar effect on the insect nervous system. Possible effects on pollinators in particular are at the center of the criticism. Opponents point out that in August 2025, the Constitutional Council challenged an earlier provision allowing the reuse of acetamiprid on the grounds that protective measures were insufficient.

The current compromise seeks to address this earlier ruling by defining the crops concerned, methods of use, and time limits more clearly. Politically, however, it does not resolve the conflict, but shifts it to Anses’s assessment process. For beekeepers, the decisive question is whether the authority considers the risks to honeybees and other pollinators sufficiently manageable in individual proceedings.