The former mayor of Langouët, Daniel Cueff.

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DAMIEN MEYER / AFP

The Nantes administrative court of appeal confirmed on Friday the annulment of a 2019 decree taken by the municipality of Langouët (Ille-et-Vilaine) limiting the use of phytosanitary products, considering in turn that this decision does not was not within the competence of a mayor.

In May 2019, Daniel Cueff, mayor of this village near Rennes, issued an order prohibiting the use of synthetic pesticides within 150 m of homes.

He had thus launched a vast debate in public opinion on the use of pesticides in France.

But in October of the same year, the administrative court of Rennes had canceled the order, ruling that it was not the competence of the mayor.

After a hearing held on January 19 in Nantes, the decision of the court of appeal confirmed Friday that taken at first instance.

Given "the existence of a special police of plant protection products entrusted to the State, the plea based on the incompetence of the mayor of Langouët to take the contested decree is likely to justify its annulment", thus considers the court appeal in a judgment.

Daniel Cueff not surprised

In addition, “the precautionary principle, if it is applicable to any public authority in its fields of attribution, can neither have the object nor the effect of allowing a public authority to exceed its field of competence and intervene outside its areas of attribution ”.

Daniel Cueff, now honorary mayor of Langouët and declared candidate for the regional elections in Brittany, “expected” this decision: the Council of State, the highest French administrative court, recently considered that the mayors did not have the power. to issue decrees prohibiting the use of pesticides in their municipalities.

"Even if there would be a proven failure of the State to protect residents, the Council of State considers that it is not for the mayors to do so, that obviously poses a lot of problems", said Daniel Cueff, 65 years.

Daniel Cueff indicated that with the collective of anti-pesticide mayors, he was going to question the Council of State "on the conditions for placing on the market of products which have not been evaluated on the health consequences. for farmers and residents ”.

Daniel Cueff said he hoped for a response from the court "within a year and a half".

On January 22, the government published a decree extending from July 2022 the bans on the use of pesticides in places such as condominium gardens, private parks, cemeteries or campsites.

Politics

The anti-pesticide mayor Daniel Cueff will be a candidate for the regional elections in Brittany

Elections

In Langouët, the pesticide war at the heart of an ultra tight vote

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