Ecology Minister Monique Barbut formally presented her resignation to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Tuesday morning. The departure follows the definitive adoption of the agricultural emergency law, which authorises exemptions from the ban on certain pesticides.
The Senate adopted the agricultural emergency bill on Tuesday by 214 votes to 111, sealing its definitive passage through Parliament. The text allows the ANSES to grant exceptional exemptions within two months for the use of acetamipride and flupyradifurone on struggling sectors.
Monique Barbut met Sébastien Lecornu at Matignon on Tuesday morning after a meeting on wildfires. The discussion focused on the terms of her departure as the country faces a heatwave and forest fires. The minister is due to present her resignation by Wednesday’s Council of Ministers.
This resignation marks the third crisis at the Ecology Ministry since Emmanuel Macron’s election. Nicolas Hulot left the government in 2018, followed by François de Rugy in 2019. The Prime Minister refused to amend the pesticide section of the text despite the minister’s objections.