Nicolas Hulot announced that France will vote against the reauthorization of glyphosate at the next meeting at the European Commission.
Victoire. France will vote against the reauthorization of glyphosate, announced Générations Futures, citing information from the specialized media Agra Presse. The Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition announced this Tuesday during a trip to Brittany. Citizen pressure, illustrated by a petition that gathered more than 23,000 signatures in two weeks, will therefore have borne fruit.
So far, Nicolas Hulot has especially shone by his silence on this sensitive issue. The re-registration of glyphosate is the subject of intense debate at the European Commission. The previous government had opposed, through the voice of Ségolène Royal, a ten-year reauthorization of the herbicide manufactured by Monsanto, considered probably carcinogenic by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). But we did not know, until now, the position of the new government and its newly appointed Minister of Ecology.
Big doubts
However, doubts were allowed. Already, on endocrine disruptors, Nicolas Hulot has showered many hopes. At the beginning of July, the Minister approved the definition proposed by the European Commission – a definition which should make it possible to ban a certain number of mutagenic substances.
The text, strongly criticized by environmental associations and scientists, requires a level of proof such that it is in practice almost impossible to classify such substances as endocrine disruptors. And yet, he received the vote and the endorsement of Nicolas Hulot, who we have known more radical.
Concerned, the NGOs anticipated the glyphosate issue by stepping up the pressure on the government. The petition, launched by Générations Futures, asked that Nicolas Hulot continue the policy of opposition to glyphosate initiated at the European Commission. It forced the minister to take a position.
It is therefore done. According to Agra Presse, the EU Standing Committee in charge of the dossier (Scopaff) will meet on October 5 and 6 in Brussels for a new vote on glyphosate. “During the last vote in 2016, France and Malta voted against, seven countries abstained, blocking the decision,” recalls the media. The reauthorization had been extended for 18 months, pending a new vote that the general public seems determined to watch.
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