‘We must reduce our dependency against pesticides in French agriculture and across the EU’

French farmers disrupted highway traffic around Paris and rallied in front of parliament with their tractors on Monday, protesting against amendments filed by opposition lawmakers to a bill that would loosen environmental regulations on farming. The draft legislation proposes simplifying approvals for breeding facilities and irrigation reservoirs and re-authorising a banned neonicotinoid pesticide used in sugar beet cultivation that environmentalists say is harmful to bees. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, FRANCE 24’s Eve Irvine welcomes François Veillerette, Spokesperson for the French association Générations Futures and on the European Board of the Pesticide Action Network.