HONDELATTE RACONTE
Christophe Hondelatte returns Monday on the fight of Paul François, farmer in Charente. On April 11, he won his third lawsuit against Monsanto, whom he accuses of having intoxicated him.
>> From 14h to 15h, Hondelatte tells Europe 1. Find the replay of the program of Christophe Hondelatte here
A state of health that is deteriorating. Tuesday, April 27, 2004, the life of Paul François, farmer, rocking. That day, he manipulates a vat that remains in the sun and accidentally inhales the vapors of Monsanto's herbicide, the Lasso. Weak and tired, he is uncomfortable. He is taken to the emergency room. In the days that follow, his condition deteriorates further. The farmer must face problems of speech, concentration, he is losing weight visibly, vertigo is increasing.
Initially, generalists and specialists find nothing to explain his state of health. When the responsibility of the Lasso is pointed out, health professionals do not hesitate to oppose her with far-fetched arguments. A toxicologist suspects him of taking drugs with the herbicide, justifying the large quantity of the product in his blood! He points the responsibility of the product and the manufacturer, pointing out that there is a lack of information on how to handle the product. We do not believe it.
Put Monsanto ahead of its responsibilities. In October 2005, the agricultural social mutuality refuses to compensate Paul beyond what has already been done. It is this news that will push the farmer to take the case to the social welfare court. With his lawyer, Master François Lafforgue, they accumulate evidence against Monsanto and note in particular that the Lasso has been banned for decades in the United States, Canada or Belgium. Second click for Paul François. He decides to take the case to court again. This time, the farmer wants to prove the responsibility of Monsanto, owned by Bayer.
Paul François denounces in particular the lack of information and the presence of chemical elements in the product, not mentioned on the label. "What has been proven by the experts is that by inhaling this gas, and because it is mixed with alachlor and twelve chemical elements that did not appear anywhere, it was stored in adipose tissue, fat body ", details Paul François at the microphone of Europe 1." This mechanism was that when I was losing weight, it went back into the blood and especially was going to be fixed in the central nervous system. "
"A new procedure must take place for compensation". Paul François knows he is attacking a giant. A first trial takes place at the end of 2011. Monsanto is found guilty, but appeals. In 2015, the Court of Appeal confirms the conviction of the American firm. But the court of cassation breaks the judgment, for procedural flaw. A third trial takes place. The judgment was rendered on April 11, the court recognizing for the third time the responsibility of Monsanto in the grain disease.
Today, Paul François no longer carries chemical traces of the weed killer in his urine or blood. The consequences, they have remained. Headache violent, immune system completely disturbed, neurological disorders. "These are sequels that I will have for life," says Paul François.
After fifteen years of legal battle, the farmer (who has totally gone organic since) hopes to put an end to this story soon. "A new procedure must take place for compensation," says Paul François. "The principle is acquired, it is hoped that the court can rule before the end of the year."