Dominique Marchal is suffering from a blood disease due, according to him, to his exposure to pesticides. His claim for state compensation was denied.
The disappointment is severe for Dominique Marchal. This 58-year-old farmer with a blood disease was asking the state for compensation. He attributes his pathology to exposure to pesticides. The Metz Court of Appeal (Meurthe-et-Moselle) ruled his request inadmissible.
Benzene ruled out
Dominique Marchal has been fighting for 14 years for the State to recognize the link between pesticides and his myelo-proliferative syndrome. He financed the analyzes himself in order to detail the content of the products he had used. The work paid off since in 2006, Social Security recognized his pathology as an “occupational disease”.
But the Metz Court of Appeal considers that the evidence is not sufficient to establish the link between benzene, implicated by Dominique Marchal, and his illness. The Lorraine farmer is considering an appeal in cassation. Even if he does not choose this option, the fight is not over. With Paul François, president of the Phytovictimes association, the man calls for the establishment of a compensation fund for victims of pesticides.
Act on Europe
The problem indeed extends to the whole of the territory, in view of the map revealed by the association Générations Futures. This has launched a national coordination which should make it possible to have more influence in political decision-making. The objective is to impose measures that are more favorable to the environment and to local residents, in particular the promotion of pesticide-free agriculture around private homes and places that host vulnerable populations (schools, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.).
“We also want to bring these voices to the European level, where everything hinges on pesticides since that is where the rules are decided,” François Veillerette, spokesperson for Générations Futures, recently underlined.
Source : Victims of pesticides
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