France has averted a cabinet resignation after President Emmanuel Macron rejected Environment Minister Monique Barbut’s decision to quit over a contentious farm bill.
Barbut had announced earlier on Wednesday that she intended to resign, arguing that the passage of the legislation meant the conditions for her continued service no longer existed.
“I told the prime minister yesterday that the conditions for me to stay in the government were no longer being met and I will present my resignation to the president today”, Barbut wrote in a post on LinkedIn.
However, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon later confirmed that Macron declined to accept the resignation, prompting Barbut to remain in office.
The farm bill permits, through a temporary waiver, the use of acetamiprid – a neonicotinoid pesticide – on hazelnut crops, and flupyradifurone on sugar beets, apples and cherries.
The measure has sparked criticism from environmental campaigners and unions representing small-scale farmers, who argue it favours large agribusiness while ignoring scientific warnings about the risks to pollinators, ecosystems and public health. Greenpeace has described the legislation as “a disgrace”.
Supporters of the bill, including France’s sugar industry, insist the pesticides are necessary to protect crops from aphid infestations that have severely damaged beet harvests in recent years.
The temporary waiver must still receive approval from France’s health and safety agency and cannot remain in effect for more than three years. The legislation has also faced strong public opposition, with a petition against it attracting more than two million signatures – the highest ever recorded on the French National Assembly’s website.
Last year, France’s Constitutional Court blocked the reintroduction of acetamiprid, citing inadequate safeguards.
