Latest news with #Pattery
LeMonde
3 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
What comes next for French anti-pesticide petition signed by over a million?
The law adopted by French Parliament aiming to "lift constraints on exercising the profession of farmer" has racked up several firsts. Ahead of the first reading in the Assemblée Nationale, it had been rejected by its own supporters without debate, in a paradoxical parliamentary maneuver intended to speed up its eventual adoption earlier this month. The so-called Duplomb Law is now the subject of the first citizens' petition to surpass the 500,000 signature mark on the Assemblée Nationale's website (and over 1.2 million by Monday morning), a threshold that opens the possibility for a debate in the Assemblée, when it returns to work in September. Launched by 23-year-old student Eléonore Pattery, the petition calling for the Duplomb Law's repeal has achieved unprecedented success, shattering all previous records. Created on July 10, just two days after the Assemblée Nationale definitively adopted the bill, the initiative emerged from outside of typical activist and NGO circles. Pattery, who has declined to express herself in the media, said on her social media accounts that she is not affiliated with any political party. Through the petition, she said she had sought to denounce what she and the million other signatories consider to be the "scientific, ethical, environmental and public health aberration" embodied by the new law.
LeMonde
5 days ago
- Politics
- LeMonde
Petition against French law unbanning pesticide reaches threshold for Parliament debate
A new law in France allowing the reintroduction of a banned pesticide has sparked a record-breaking petition opposing it, which on Saturday, July 19, had gathered more than 500,000 signatures. The so-called Duplomb law has stirred public anger for permitting a return of acetamiprid, a chemical known to be toxic to pollinators such as bees and to ecosystems. Acetamiprid has been banned in France since 2018, but remains legal within the European Union. The law was adopted on July 8 but has not yet come into effect. The legislation, named after the conservative lawmaker who proposed it, was presented in Parliament as a measure to "reduce constraints" on French farmers. But its move to bring back acetamiprid prompted a 23-year-old master's student, Eléonore Pattery, to launch a petition against it that quickly snowballed, gathering support from many people, including actors and several left-wing lawmakers. The Assemblée Nationale's official website showed it had accumulated more signatures than any other. At 6:00 pm Saturday, the counter had passed 550,000. Debate in Parliament Under French rules, if a petition reaches 500,000 verified signatures, the Assemblée Nationale may choose to hold a public debate limited to the content of the petition itself. Petitions do not in themselves trigger a review or repeal of the legislation but unprecedented public support may prompt renewed parliamentary discussion on the matter. The petition calls for the "immediate repeal" of the law and a "citizen-led consultation involving health, agricultural, environmental and legal stakeholders." Pattery, who describes herself as "a future environmental health professional," called the new law a "scientific, ethical, environmental and public health aberration. "It represents a frontal attack on public health, biodiversity, the coherence of climate policies, food security, and common sense," she said. In late June, before the law's passage, several thousand demonstrators – including farmers, environmental organisations and scientists – rallied across France calling for the bill to be withdrawn.
