France’s Parliament has definitively passed the emergency agricultural bill on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, after a final vote in the Senate. The text authorizes the national food safety, environment, and labor agency, Anses, to again approve, under derogation, pesticides containing acetamiprid or flupyradifurone. These two insecticides have been banned in France since 2020, but remain approved within the European Union. However, this authorization does not imply that science regards them as risk-free.
Acetamiprid and Flupyradifurone: Two Pesticides with Closely Related Modes of Action
Acetamiprid belongs to the neonicotinoid family. Like other pesticides in this class, it acts directly on the insects’ nervous system. The substance disrupts the transmission of nerve signals, then triggers a paralysis that can lead to death. “It creates something like a generalized cramp,” explains Jean-Marc Bonmatin, a CNRS researcher cited by Agence France-Presse and Franceinfo. Thus, exposed insects may lose the ability to fly, orient themselves, or reach food resources. Yet, the observed effects are not limited to immediate mortality. Lower exposures can also disrupt behavior, reproduction, or the functioning of a colony. These so‑called sublethal effects are especially important for evaluating the real risks of pesticides in agricultural settings.
Flupyradifurone belongs to another chemical family, the butenolides. Nonetheless, its mode of action is close to that of acetamiprid, since it also targets nicotinic receptors in the nervous system. “There is as much difference between acetamiprid and flupyradifurone as between a pistol and a revolver: they have a slightly different construction, but the bullet fired into the head has the same effects,” summarizes Bonmatin for the outlet Vert. Yet, the two pesticides do not share exactly the same toxicological properties. Each substance must therefore be studied according to its dose, persistence, uses, and the species exposed.
Pesticides that Spread Well Beyond the Crops
Acetamiprid and flupyradifurone are systemic insecticides. They are absorbed by the plant and circulate through its tissues. “These are systemic substances, meaning they spread through the entire plant to protect it from pests,” notes Anses. Consequently, the pesticides do not stay only on the treated part. They can reach leaves, stems, and, depending on the crops or application conditions, pollen and nectar. Pollinators can therefore be exposed when visiting flowers. Moreover, these molecules can move through soils and into water. “As soon as you put them somewhere, they go everywhere,” warns Jean-Marc Bonmatin to Franceinfo. Runoff can, in particular, carry acetamiprid into meadows, forests, ditches, and streams surrounding treated plots.
This broader dispersion increases the number of organisms potentially affected by pesticides. A March 2025 study in Communications Earth & Environment reported mortality up to 92% in three species living in adjacent habitats after an acetamiprid application, even at low amounts. In addition, a Japanese study published in Environmental Monitoring and Contaminants Research detected pesticides, including acetamiprid, in precipitation. These findings suggest that the substances can leave treated fields and move through several environmental compartments. However, the distance traveled and final concentrations depend on many factors: amount applied, weather, soil type, vegetation, terrain, and the chemical properties of the molecule.
Documented Risks for Pollinators and Other Animals
Pollinators sit at the center of concerns about these pesticides. “This product is harmful to honeybees and even more so to other pollinators,” says Philippe Grandcolas, deputy director of the CNRS Institute of Ecology and Environment, interviewed by Franceinfo about acetamiprid. Research is no longer limited to the dose that causes rapid death. It also examines memory, orientation, longevity, foraging behavior, and reproduction. A colony can be weakened even when the worker bees do not die immediately. Likewise, wild bees, bumblebees, and solitary bee species may not exhibit the same sensitivity as the domestic honeybee.
Flupyradifurone raises comparable concerns. A 2021 study in Communications Biology showed that prolonged exposure to realistic concentrations could alter the behavior and survival of domestic bees. Other studies have noted disruptions in the collective behavior of bumblebee colonies or effects on the reproduction of solitary bees. Pesticides can affect beneficial insects that do not participate directly in pollination. This is notably the case for lacewings (Chrysoperla species), whose larvae feed on aphids and contribute to natural crop protection. Consequently, removing these helpers can reduce certain ecological services and make farms even more dependent on chemical treatments.
Potential consequences extend beyond the insect world to birds, amphibians, invertebrates, and mammals. “An insecticide designed to kill pests often ends up harming other species as well.” In a 2022 report, Anses highlighted the “high toxicity of acetamiprid for aquatic and terrestrial organisms.” Traces of pesticides have also been detected in the spleen of some cervids, while associations have been reported with body weight, reproductive organs, or fawn survival. However, the mere presence of a substance does not prove it is responsible for every observed effect. It does, however, indicate exposure of wildlife to the compound.
What About Human Health?
What is known about human health is less definitive than what is known about certain insects. Nonetheless, several signals have prompted European authorities to tighten precautions. In 2013, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) estimated that acetamiprid could damage the human nervous system at high exposure levels. In 2016, it recommended a stricter classification with the label “toxic if swallowed,” and flagged a potential cancer risk. However, regulatory hazard classification and actual risk assessment do not address the same question. Hazard describes the molecule’s intrinsic properties, while risk also depends on dose and duration of exposure.
In 2024, EFSA highlighted “major uncertainties” concerning the developmental neurotoxicity of acetamiprid. The agency indicated that additional data were needed to better assess hazards and risks. As a precaution, it proposed reducing the acceptable daily intake and the acute reference dose by a factor of five. Researchers and clinicians are calling for greater caution. “There are many indications that this molecule poses potential dangers for the development of a child’s and fetus’s nervous system,” says Marc Billaud, an oncologist and emeritus CNRS researcher, interviewed by Franceinfo. He notes that acetamiprid could also accumulate in the liver or kidneys and exhibit reproductive toxicity. However, the scientist uses terms of potential danger and reasoned supposition, which do not amount to a proven causal link in humans at typical exposure levels. The distinction remains essential to inform without downplaying warnings or turning solid hypotheses into definitive certainties.
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