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French Ecology Minister resigns over pesticide law
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

French Ecology Minister resigns over pesticide law

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • French Minister of Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut, resigned after a new agricultural law reintroduced two banned pesticides.
  • Barbut stated she accepted the role believing she could make environmental progress, but found opposing forces too powerful.
  • The controversial law allows exceptional use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurona for specific agricultural needs, despite their ban in France.

Monique Barbut, France's Minister of Ecological Transition, confirmed her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron following the approval of an emergency agricultural law. The law permits the exceptional reintroduction of two pesticides previously banned in France.

I have often said that politics is not my world

— Monique BarbutBarbut explained her initial motivation for accepting the role and her eventual decision to resign.

Barbut explained in a LinkedIn message that she accepted the ministerial position believing she could achieve concrete environmental progress "without grand announcements or unachievable promises." She aimed to defend "what is not seen, not voted on, and not shouted about": the silence of forests, water quality, air purity, soil richness, and biodiversity.

However, she admitted that "the forces opposing" her agenda had become "so powerful" that she no longer had the means to advance her project. "Therefore, I announced yesterday to the Prime Minister that the conditions for my remaining in the government are no longer met, and consequently, I will submit my resignation to the President of the Republic today," she stated.

The silence of our forests, the quality of our water, the purity of our air, the richness of our soils and the diversity of life

— Monique BarbutBarbut described the environmental elements she sought to protect during her tenure.

The controversial law, supported by the macronist government, allows the National Health Security Agency (Anses) to exceptionally authorize the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurona under strict criteria. This is intended for agricultural productions facing economic difficulties, even though these substances are banned in France but authorized within the European Union.

the forces opposing this agenda have become so powerful

— Monique BarbutBarbut cited the overwhelming opposition as the reason she could no longer effectively pursue her environmental goals.

Barbut's resignation creates a new challenge for the government, which governs with a slim parliamentary majority. The 69-year-old minister is an economist and a recognized expert in climate diplomacy, having previously held roles at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the Global Environment Facility.

the conditions for my remaining in the government are no longer met

— Monique BarbutBarbut stated the specific reason for her resignation following the agricultural law's approval.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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