« Nous devons construire un chemin tous ensemble pour protéger nos sols, mais aussi nos activités agricoles (…) quand on trouve des substituts non-chimiques, quand on crée des cépages résistants, quand on modifie utilement le vivant, on peut se passer de pesticides tout en restant compétitif (…). Ce n’est qu’au niveau européen que nous y arriverons, [la France portera] une initiative forte de sortie accélérée des pesticides »
"We must build a path together to protect our soil, but also our agricultural activities (...) when we find non-chemical alternatives, when we create resistant grape varieties, when we usefully modifying organisms, we can do without pesticides while remaining competitive (...). It is only at the European level that we will succeed, [France will] take a strong initiative to accelerate the phase-out of pesticides".
- E. Macron International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress, Marseille 03.09.2021
This announcement by the French President E. Macron during the 2021 IUCN Congress has been positively received by PAN Europe. It is very much in line with and support the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, which proposes to set for the first time EU quantitative reduction targets for pesticides to achieve a sustainable food system. This statement was perceived as a signal of a French intent to drive the European ambition forward on the phasing out of pesticides during its Presidency of the EU Council in 2022.
Read more in the document attached.
