After two years of banning bee-harming pesticides, France allows their return, facing backlash from environmentalists

France approved the temporary return of two bee-harming pesticides, acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, after a two-year national ban.

An emergency farm bill allows limited use of these insecticides under strict conditions to help French farmers compete with EU rivals.

Acetamiprid is authorized mainly for hazelnut production, while flupyradifurone is for crops including sugar beet, apples, and cherries.

Each exemption requires approval from France's food and health safety agency, ANSES, only when no effective alternatives exist.

Environmentalists oppose the move, arguing the pesticides threaten bees, biodiversity, and human health.