Nice (AFP)

Justice has banned the sale in France of two pesticides from the US group Dow AgroSciences, accused by environmental groups of harming the health of bees, a decision hailed by environmental advocates and beekeepers.

"The court held that sulfoxaflor, which is used in the composition of these pesticides and has the effect of acting on the central nervous system of insects, was likely, in the state of scientific knowledge, to present a significant risk of toxicity to pollinating insects ", explained in a statement the administrative court of Nice seized by two associations ecologists, to act for the environment and Generations Futures, and by the National union of the French beekeeping.

The court, which had already suspended the sale of these two products in November 2017, put forward the precautionary principle to justify the cancellation of the marketing authorization for Transform and Closer granted by the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) in September 2017.

Both pesticides are used to treat field crops and fruits and vegetables against aphids with the active substance, sulfoxaflor, presented by associations as "a new generation neonicotinoid" based on various scientific studies.

Neonicotinoids attack the nervous system of insects, disorient pollinators, and contribute to the dramatic decline of bee colonies. They also affect terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates and persist in water and soil.

The manufacturer had contested in 2017 any amalgam between neonicotinoids and sulfoxaflor, presented instead as "more respectful of biodiversity."

According to Dow AgroSciences, integrated into a new structure called Corteva after the merger between the two US giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, the Transform and Closer are already authorized in many countries.

- "Think twice" -

"If ANSES and Dow AgroSciences claim that the use of the insecticide is accompanied by risk mitigation measures, such as failure to apply the product during the flowering period, these measures can not be used. to be considered sufficient, "the court said in its judgment.

It also refers to the European Food Safety Authority, which has identified high risks for bees and drones when using sulfoxaflor in reports published in 2015 and 2019.

"In these circumstances, the existence of a risk for pollinators should be considered as a sufficiently plausible hypothesis in the state of scientific knowledge", he continues, saying that the director of ANSES had "misunderstood the principle of precaution "by authorizing the placing on the market of both products.

Dow AgroSciences and ANSES were ordered to pay each 1,500 euros to Générations Futures, and 1,500 euros to the National Union of French beekeeping and Acting for the environment.

This decision "will, we hope, encourage the government and the evaluating agencies to think twice before issuing marketing authorizations for products whose uses could prove disastrous for biodiversity or for health. "reacted François Veillerette, director of Générations Futures, quoted in a statement.

Saluting "an exemplary decision", the lawyer of the association François Lafforgue estimates that it "will undeniably date (...) in the fight for the preservation of biodiversity."

"The pesticide marketing authorization process is fallible and needs to be reviewed in depth in order to avoid precipitation being the norm in the future and taking into account the precautionary principle. exception ", have also reacted in a separate statement the National Union of French beekeeping and Acting for the environment.

© 2019 AFP