Duplomb Law: Yaël Braun-Pivet says she is "in favor" of a debate but asserts that she "will not be able to reverse the law passed under any circumstances."

The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said on Sunday, July 20, that she was "in favor" of organizing a debate on the Duplomb law, while emphasizing that "under no circumstances will it be possible to reverse the law that has been passed."

Launched by a student on July 10, a petition against the Duplomb Law, which authorizes the reintroduction of a pesticide banned in France but authorized in Europe, reached 860,000 signatures on the National Assembly website by midday on Sunday . Once the threshold of 500,000 signatures reached on Saturday, and provided they come from at least 30 overseas departments or communities, the Conference of Presidents of the National Assembly may decide to organize a debate in public session.

But the law will not be reviewed in substance, let alone possibly repealed. No petition has ever been debated in the chamber in the history of the Fifth Republic.

Speaking to France Info this Sunday, Yaël Braun-Pivet said that "we can only note the figures which show that a portion of the French people want us to debate." "The French have signed this petition. We will be able to organize a debate on this issue as soon as the parliamentary session resumes. It's a subject that will be addressed at the Conference of Presidents, but I am obviously in favor of it," added the Ensemble pour la République MP from Yvelines. The Conference of Presidents will next meet "in mid-September," she said from Muret, in Haute-Garonne.

Adopted on July 8 in Parliament, the Duplomb law provides in particular for the reintroduction, by way of derogation and under conditions, of acetamiprid, a pesticide from the neonicotinoid family , banned in France but authorized in Europe.

This product is in demand by beet and hazelnut producers, who believe they have no alternative to combat pests and are facing unfair competition. Conversely, beekeepers warn of it as a "bee killer." Its effects on humans are also a source of concern, although the risks remain uncertain due to a lack of large-scale studies.

All left-wing parties called for this unprecedented debate on Saturday . "In the face of lobbies, there are millions of us: ecology is fighting back," the head of the Ecologists, Marine Tondelier, had declared on X. Conversely, Arnaud Rousseau, the head of the FNSEA, the leading agricultural union, which strongly supports the Duplomb law , believes that French agriculture will "disappear" if it is imposed "higher standards" than those of its European neighbors.

"Before the debate in the chamber, there will be a debate in the committee, normally Economic Affairs, where MPs will be able to meet and discuss. A rapporteur will be appointed," explained Yaël Braun-Pivet.

"There will then be a debate in the chamber, that's what the French want, that's what I wanted too," she added.

In Parliament, the law had a rushed path , with a preliminary motion of rejection tabled by its own rapporteur, Julien Dive (LR), who was in favor of the bill. The MP justified this by denouncing the "obstruction" of the left, which had tabled several thousand amendments.

The lack of real debate in the chamber is one of the arguments put forward by left-wing MPs who filed an appeal on 11 July before the Constitutional Council , hoping for its censure for procedural defect, which could prevent its promulgation.

As Yaël Braun-Pivet pointed out to France Info, "the debate cannot under any circumstances revisit the law that has been passed." "Now it is up to the Constitutional Council to rule on the law and its legality, but the petition cannot lead to the repeal of the text of the law at the start of the school year, and that is perfectly normal," since "the national representation and the Senate have spoken," the elected official declared.

"The opposition is speaking out. Behind this, there will surely be a debate organized in the National Assembly to unfortunately repeat what has been said for six months," noted Republican Senator Laurent Duplomb on France Info on Sunday. The author of this law is worried about "unfair competition" for French farmers if his text is not implemented. Yaël Braun-Pivet also judged on Sunday that the law "will save a certain number of our farmers."

"This law is a scientific, ethical, environmental and health aberration," writes Eléonore Pattery, a 23-year-old student who initiated the text, in the petition.