PARIS (AP) — The French minister for environmental transition backpedaled Wednesday and stayed in office after a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, who did not accept her resignation.
Monique Barbut, who was appointed in October, had announced a few hours earlier that she would step down over a controversial emergency agriculture bill granting temporary exemptions for the use of restricted pesticides that scientists say are harmful to bees.
Barbut and Macron acknowledged their disagreement regarding the law's final version passed by Parliament, according to French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon, who added that Barbut has support for her continued mission from Macron and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.
The legislation passed by French lawmakers Tuesday allows the French food, environmental and occupational health agency to exceptionally authorize the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone for a few struggling agricultural sectors.
"Over the past nine months, I have defended those who do not march, who do not vote, and who do not shout: the silence of our forests, the quality of our water, the purity of our air, the richness of our soils, and the diversity of life," Barbut wrote in a social media message before meeting Macron.
"Today, I must acknowledge that the forces opposing these goals have become so powerful that I no longer have the means to carry this ambition through," she wrote.
The two pesticides, part of a class of agrochemicals known as neonicotinoids, are permitted under European Union rules, but are currently banned in France. They are being authorized for use on sugar beet, apples, hazelnuts and cherries.
"Contrary to the commitments that had been made to me, the government prevented any debate on removing this provision," Barbut said.
The political tangle came a year after France's highest court blocked a key part of a contentious farming law that would have brought back acetamiprid, a pesticide banned in France since 2018 for its role in harming bees and other pollinators. The court said that the measure failed to protect the environment and future generations.
