To end a practice described as“hateful” According to the United Nations, France has banned the export of pesticides since 2022, the use of which is prohibited in the European Union (EU) because of their danger to health or the environment. Two years after this world-first law came into force, we continue to produce thousands of tonnes of banned pesticides in France and transport them to countries with less protective regulations, such as Brazil (the first destination), Ukraine, Russia or India. The boomerang effect: these highly toxic chemicals are then returned to French supermarket shelves through the import of fruits, vegetables or spices treated with these pesticides.
Another consequence of the continuation of this “dirty business” is the pollution of water resources around production plants in France. These are the main conclusions of several surveys carried out by associations (Public Eye, Unearthed and Pesticide Action Network Europe) and by the team of the programme “Vert de rage”, broadcast on France 5. The results, which The world had access, would be made public on Tuesday, September 24 before the broadcast of the last issue of the documentary series.
According to data compiled by Swiss NGO Public Eye and Unearthed, the investigative unit of Greenpeace’s British subsidiary, French authorities have given the green light to the export of nearly 7,300 tonnes of banned pesticides in 2023, roughly the same volume as in 2022 (7,475 tonnes).
As in 2022, agrochemical giants took advantage of legal loopholes to continue exporting banned substances legally. The main loophole in the racket is that the law applies to products “containing” unauthorised substances, but not the active ingredients themselves. The American Corteva and the German BASF were quick to make up for this non-compliance by exporting, respectively, more than 3,000 tonnes of picoxystrobin (enough to treat an area of 50 million hectares, almost the size of metropolitan France), a fungicide banned since 2017 for its genotoxic potential, and more than 1,400 tonnes of fipronil, an anti-bee insecticide banned in France since 2004.
Legislative non-compliance
A previous report by Public Eye revealed the existence of this defect in November 2022. The Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, committed himself, in December 2022, before the deputies, to “fill this void”. Almost two years later, it is still open. Contacted by The worldThe ministry indicates that “The implementation of the ban on exporting “pure” active substances requires a change in the law, which could not be integrated into a recent legislative vehicle”.
You have 67.18% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
