"Legitimate opposition": Senator Laurent Duplomb reacts to the petition calling for the repeal of his text

A resounding success. A petition against the Duplomb law on pesticides has accumulated more than 800,000 signatures. This record figure, to which the LR senator who introduced the controversial bill, Laurent Duplomb, responded.

"In a state governed by the rule of law, opposition is legitimate, especially when it is expressed within a legal framework, which is the case with this petition," commented the Haute-Loire representative to France Télévisions .

For the member of the upper house, this petition also symbolizes a divide in the country. "What is happening clearly demonstrates two opposing visions of our society. Mine, which is based on work, growth, and sovereignty, and which his bill defends," he emphasizes.

"And that of the petitioners, who, like Sandrine Rousseau, don't give a damn about the profitability of economic activities and live in a world where rights are for them and duties for others (...)", he adds.

Beyond the 500,000 signature mark, a petition can trigger a new debate in the Assembly, but without a vote. "Behind that, there will surely be a debate organized in the National Assembly to say what we have been saying for six months," Laurent Duplomb whispered to France Télévisions , specifying that "there have been debates, whether in the Senate at first reading, during the joint committee, at the conclusion of the joint committee."

The reason this bill, adopted in July, has sparked so much controversy is that it proposes the reintroduction of a neonicotinoid pesticide, a product that has been banned in France since 2020.

"The Director General of ANSES clearly stated during the hearing that the ban decision was not taken under the guise of a scientific study. (...) Acetamiprid is authorized in 26 out of 27 countries in Europe," continues the LR senator from Haute-Loire, "all scientists from all over Europe, except France, have given their approval to continue using it until 2033," the senator assures.

The text, which also facilitates the storage of water in mega-basins, was presented as a response to the anger of farmers who had massively demonstrated in 2024.