As reported by French Newspaper Le Figaro, farmers will be driving tractors and buses from Porte de Versailles in the south of Paris to the Esplanade des Invalides near the National Assembly and the Ministry of Agriculture. The decision to stop at Les Invalides is no coincidence, for this is home to the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte, who imported sugar beet from Poland to France to make France less dependent on sugar.

Risk to sugar beet crops

The reason for the protest is a decision by the French government on January 23, 2023, to drop its plan to re-authorize neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are pesticides used as a seed treatment. In sugar beet, they protect against the crop disease virus yellows, a viral disease that repeatedly causes widespread sugar beet crop failure. France had been granted a two-year exemption for the neonicotinoids, but the European Court of Justice has now ruled such exemptions unlawful.

Threatened loss of production

The issue of neonicotinoids, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Many other pesticides have also recently had their approvals withdrawn. These include the insecticide phosmet. According to farmers’ representatives, if the use of this pesticide is no longer allowed, French cherry production is at risk. An herbicide used in the cultivation of chicory is also no longer available to farmers. French farmers warn that this is a dangerous development which could lead to an ever greater decline in France's agricultural production sector. Farmers are calling on the government to significantly improve the current situation. Otherwise, food sovereignty is also threatened.

Food security a European challenge

The argument of the French farmers’ union is very similar to the debate in Germany: The union has called on farmers to take a stand against the increasingly stringent requirements, regulatory constraints and bans on pesticide use. As in Germany, the planned blanket bans on the use of pesticides are criticized for the absence of alternatives for crop farmers. In addition, farmers want to defend themselves against the pricing policies of food retailers. The French farmers’ union warns of increasing food imports produced under lower standards. As reported by the Schweizer Bauer, young farmers and horticulturists also demonstrated in Belgium. They are committed to sustainable production, but feel abandoned by the government.