Six months after gathering more than two million signatures, the petition against the Duplomb law finally reached the National Assembly. On Wednesday, deputies held an unprecedented debate – the first ever in the Fifth Republic to discuss a petition – but the session concluded without a vote.
The debate came hot on the heels of a new pro‑pesticide bill introduced in the Senate, reigniting tensions between environmental groups and the government. Assembly president Yaël Braun‑Pivet framed the discussion as a bridge between civil society and elected representatives.
Why the Debate Matters
Critics argue the talk is merely symbolic. An ecological lawmaker dismissed it as “pointless,” while the head of the Communist parliamentary group, Stéphane Peu, insisted that the massive mobilisation should have forced a parliamentary vote.
Outside the Assembly, hundreds of protesters gathered at the invitation of more than 200 organisations, including Greenpeace and the Confederation Paysanne. Demonstrators set up a “pesti‑bar” serving yellow‑coloured drinks, and activist Fleur Breteau of the Cancer Colère collective took the microphone.
The Controversial Measures
The Duplomb law, championed by Senator Laurent Duplomb and backed by Macronists, the right‑wing LR party and the far‑right, eases storage of water and expansion of livestock facilities. The most incendiary clause, however, sought to re‑introduce acetamiprid – a neonicotinoid pesticide banned in France but allowed elsewhere in Europe and blamed for bee deaths.
The original petition, launched by a university student on the Palais Bourbon’s online portal, amassed 2.1 million signatures and was widely shared by NGOs, political parties and public figures, who condemned the measure as a “scientific, ethical, environmental and health aberration.”
After the Constitutional Council struck down the acetamiprid provision for lacking sufficient safeguards, Senator Duplomb re‑filed a revised draft that respects the Council’s concerns. The new proposal has already sparked a second petition, quickly gathering over 130 000 signatures.
The government has signalled it will not adopt the revision, nor will it embed it in the upcoming emergency agricultural law. Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told France 2 that ignoring a petition backed by two million citizens would be a mistake.
Political Reactions
Right‑wing deputy Hélène Laporte (RN) defended the use of acetamiprid, calling it a “necessity” to keep French agriculture competitive with neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, left‑wing deputies and the Assembly’s economic affairs committee chair, Stéphane Travert, called for a modernization of the petition procedure, arguing that the current four‑and‑a‑half‑million‑signature threshold for a shared‑initiative referendum is excessively high.
The session began with statements from the various political groups, followed by Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard, a staunch supporter of the law. Each group will then have the opportunity to pose one or two questions, depending on its size.