Neonicotinoids: chronology of a disputed ban

The derogation for the use of neonicotinoids, “it’s over”. French Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau finally ruled on Monday, January 23, against the use of this class of nicotine-derived insecticides, which alter the central nervous system of insects, causing their paralysis and death.

In France, neonicotinoids have been used mainly in the North since the 1980s, to protect sugar beet seeds. Held responsible for the massive decline of bee colonies, they have been the subject of a standoff between farmers, the French government and the European Commission for more than twenty years.

► 1999, first ban on a neonicotinoid insecticide in France

The first ban on an insecticide from the neonicotinoid family dates back to 1999, for imidacloprid, used on sunflower crops. This preparation is present in the composition of several phytosanitary formulations. The Minister of Agriculture at the time invoked a precautionary principle concerning their danger to biodiversity.

► 2003, demonstration of the harmfulness of the molecule on bees

In 2003, the CNRS demonstrated for the first time the “systemic” nature of the product, ie diffusing the organism of the plant as a whole, and highlighted the degradation of the learning capacities of bees.

The following year, the ban on the use of imidacloprid will be extended to maize crops. Other preparations based on neonicotinoids (thiamethoxam and clothianidin) will be suspended, then authorized again, between 2008 and 2010.

► 2013, the European Commission suspends three neonicotinoids

In the face of growing criticism from many beekeepers and several scientific studies highlighting the toxicity of neonicotinoids on bees and bumblebees, the European Commission announced in 2013 the suspension for two years of three pesticides of this type. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considers that the risk to bees could not “be excluded” except for certain crops such as sugar beets.

► 2016, ban on neonicotinoids in France from 2018

In 2016, the National Assembly voted to ban the five phytosanitary products of the neonicotinoid family still used in France, against the advice of the government. According to the Minister of Ecology at the time, Ségolène Royal, “the European framework does not allow for a strict ban”. The ban, as of September 1, 2018, however includes derogations, scheduled until July 2020.

► 2018, European vote for the virtual ban of the three neonicotinoids

After the publication of a new EASA report on the dangerousness of neonicotinoids, MEPs voted in May 2018 for the virtual ban of the three neonicotinoids already suspended. The ban applies to all outdoor crops but provides exceptions for greenhouse crops.

According to EU law, derogations could be granted “in exceptional circumstances” on the occasion of a “danger which cannot be controlled by other reasonable means”.

► 2020, the French Senate authorizes these pesticides again

In August 2020, a report from the Ministry of Agriculture reported an “unprecedented crisis” facing French beet growers: their crops were ravaged by the jaundice virus, transmitted by aphids. Faced with the “risk of a massive abandonment of beet in 2021 by farmers in favor of other crops”, the ministry proposes the establishment of a derogation from the use of neonicotinoids for beet growers.

A few months later, in October, the Senate with a right-wing majority gave its approval to a bill allowing the temporary reintroduction of neonicotinoids, justified by a rescue of the beet industry. The derogation, which allows the spreading of products from this family of pesticides on approximately 400,000 hectares of sugar beet in 2021, will be renewed for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

► 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union prohibits any derogation from the use of neonicotinoids

On January 19, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the use of phytosanitary products from this family of pesticides by prohibiting any exemption for use or placing on the market by the Member States.

Eleven States, including France, are implicated in their “emergency authorizations” for the use of neonicotinoids. The court considers that the exceptions cannot include “preventively treated seeds”.

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