French court bans Syngenta weedkillers

Glyphosate has been a focus of controversy since a World Health Organization agency concluded in 2015 that it probably causes cancer. Keystone / Patrick Pleul

A French court has banned the sale of two weedkillers containing glyphosate produced by Swiss chemical group Syngenta.

“The decision on September 30, 2020, by French health security agency ANSES to renew the marketing authorisation for the chemical product Touchdown Systeme 4 was annulled,” a ruling by the administrative court of Montpellier in southern France said on Friday.

“The precautionary principle was not respected” due to the lack of a complete evaluation procedure, it said. A separate but similar decision was taken for Syngenta’s Touchdown Foret weedkiller.

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Syngenta said the ruling was “disappointing”. Its products had gone through “a rigorous approval process that demonstrated safe use”, it told Reuters, adding that it may appeal.

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The weedkillers covered by Friday’s ruling remained authorised pending the terms of a withdrawal procedure, such as a deadline for using the products, Syngenta added.

Glyphosate, first developed by Bayer’s Monsanto unit under the brand Roundup, has been a focus of controversy since a World Health Organization agency concluded in 2015 that it probably causes cancerExternal link.

French President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 pledged to end glyphosate use in France within three years, but his government later said it would consider whether other solutions existed. The EU approval of glyphosate was extended for another year last December.

In 2018 the Swiss government said that it did not consider the widely used product a health risk. Swiss Federal Railways said in 2019 it would stop using the controversial herbicide glyphosate by 2025.