Prime Minister Edouard Philippe reiterated Paris would vote against the European Commission’s proposal to extend for 10 years the license for glyphosate, which is used in Monsanto’s Roundup, citing uncertainty about its safety.
A vote is due to take place by the end of the year.
However, Philippe said the French government had asked the farm and environment ministries to propose by the end of the year “a plan to move away from glyphosate in light of the current research and available alternatives for farmers,” signaling a readiness to accept a gradual phasing out.
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French farmers welcomed the prime minister’s statement.
“This means Matignon (the prime minister) is starting to understand that a full ban would be impossible to apply in France. This is already an easing in position,” Christiane Lambert, head of France’s largest farm union FNSEA, told reporters after meeting Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot.
Three hundreds farmers protested on Paris’s landmark Champs-Elysee shopping street on Friday against Hulot’s position against the renewal of glyphosate’s license. Farmers say there is no alternative to the product.
A European Commission source said a vote due on Oct. 5-6 on the license had been postponed for at least a month.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: France open to phasing out weedkiller glyphosate
