Hundreds of tractors were driven into Paris by French farmers early on Wednesday to show their opposition to environmental laws and pesticide restrictions they claim are endangering farm production in the largest agricultural nation in the European Union.
Following an EU court decision last month that invalidated a French policy allowing sugar beet growers to use a prohibited insecticide, the action has sugar beet growers concerned about a further decline in plantings and the closure of sugar factories.
The government’s failure to support numerous industries (cherries, apples, chicory, potato starch, etc.) and these repeated bans, according to the largest farm union in France, CGB, and a group of young farmers, JA, ‘condemn agricultural production.’
They warned that the importation of crops exempt from comparable pesticide restrictions would endanger French jobs.
Pesticide residues, according to environmentalists, harm the soil and wildlife.
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