Credits: AN2303 / Wikimedia Commons — CC0.
In France, a new bill in the Senate aims to reopen the use of two neonicotinoids. This initiative has set off a political firestorm. On February 4, 2026, on X, MEP Rima Hassa (LFI) insults Senator Laurent Duplomb (LR), who refers the matter to the upper house’s leadership. The right is outraged, while the Parisien’s SDJ warns about harassment targeting a journalist. Protests are scheduled for February 7 and 8 in several cities.
One Post On X, And The Pesticide File Becomes A Test Of Strength Again
The bill behind the outcry was introduced in the Senate in early February. It puts back on the table an explosive issue: the possible return of two agricultural insecticides, acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, pesticides banned in France but still authorized in several European countries.
In this context, Rima Hassan goes on the offensive. On X, she calls Laurent Duplomb “trash” and writes that, “in a democracy that is doing well,” “his place is in prison.” She also points to the influence of “agro-industrial lobbies” and highlights popular opposition.
The political backlash comes immediately. Bruno Retailleau calls her a “lamentable” elected official who “revels in hate.” Laurent Wauquiez tells her she can “keep” her “lessons in democracy.” Xavier Bertrand denounces an “anti-republican drift.” The words pile up; the substance, meanwhile, waits.
What The New Duplomb Bill On Neonicotinoids Contains
The new text backed by Laurent Duplomb and Senator Franck Menonville seeks to reopen access to acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, two examples at the heart of the debate, for certain crops. Neonicotinoids are controversial insecticides because they belong to the pesticide category. Indeed, they have harmful effects on insects. In addition, their impact extends more broadly to biodiversity. In France, acetamiprid has been banned since 2020, while it remains authorized at the European level. Anses has warned of its high toxicity for certain organisms.
The bill is also part of a legal showdown. A previous measure was adopted on July 8, 2025. However, the Constitutional Council partially struck it down on August 7, 2025. That decision was based on the requirements of the Environmental Charter. The sponsors therefore say they have narrowed the scope and limited the exemptions.
In practical terms, the bill authorizes flupyradifurone seed coating for sugar beets for 3 years, presented as a preventive method to protect the plant when it is most vulnerable to pests. It also opens the door to spraying as a curative measure for one year, then on certain perennial crops for 3 years. Supporters cite technical “dead ends” and a distortion of competition; opponents point to the danger of pesticides for health and the environment.
Institutional Response: From Clash To Senate Leadership
The matter does not stay confined to social media. Laurent Duplomb says he has referred the issue to the Senate leadership. In a statement, he accuses the MEP of making “chaos” a political project. The President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, condemns the “excesses” and announces that a complaint has been filed.
This detour through the institution recalls a simple fact: laws are written, amended, and reviewed. A tweet, by contrast, hits and disappears. Between the two, the controversy risks becoming a smokescreen: no one talks anymore about acetamiprid, farming practices, or alternatives, but about one word, then another.
When The Target Is A Journalist: The Parisien SDJ Sounds The Alarm
On that same February 4, 2026, Rima Hassan targets a Parisien journalist, Robin Korda, after an article linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case. On X, the MEP names him directly, and suggests that his piece could be used to “make people forget” a lead. Indeed, that lead is tied to the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. She also invites her followers to search her posts using keywords.
The Parisien journalists’ society (SDJ) responds on February 5. It denounces an “intolerable attack,” an “attempt at intimidation,” and a “barely disguised call for online lynching.” The SDJ reports that the journalist received dozens of messages of extreme violence. In addition, many were antisemitic in nature. Some messages even included calls for murder.
The episode underscores a fragile boundary: challenging an article or an angle is legitimate. Naming a journalist and steering a crowd toward their profile exposes a person to uncontrollable violence. Indeed, this situation creates consequences that can no longer be managed.
February 7 And 8 Mobilizations: Civil Society Wants To Put The Focus Back On Substance
More than 80 organizations, grouped around the Collectif Nourrir, are announcing national mobilizations on February 7 and 8, 2026. Indeed, these are meant to protest the new bill. Their line is clear: do not reopen the door to pesticides deemed dangerous to health. In addition, they want to protect water and biodiversity. They also want to ban the riskiest pesticides.
On February 11, the National Assembly is due to hold a debate linked to a citizen petition that has topped 2 million signatures. For the coalitions, that threshold shows the scale of a concern that goes beyond the farming world: parents, nearby residents, healthcare workers, consumers.
They also highlight the collective cost of technical choices. Drinking water networks have to detect and treat substances, local authorities pay for cleanup, and nearby residents want guarantees. On the other side, some sectors say they lack effective alternatives and fear crop losses. The conflict is not just “farmers” versus “environmentalists”: it cuts across territories and professions.
Rima Hassan: Background, Method, And The Bet On Radicalism
At 33, Rima Hassan has become one of LFI’s most visible faces in the European Parliament. A lawyer born in the Palestinian refugee camp of Neirab near Aleppo, she arrived in France as a child, founded the Refugee Camps Observatory in 2019, then joined La France insoumise. She was elected MEP on June 9, 2024.
Her preferred tool is X: a permanent platform, an arena, a megaphone. On pesticides, she presents herself as the voice of health concerns. Her opponents accuse her of shifting the debate toward invective. They also believe it blurs the line between denunciation and intimidation.
That leaves a question that goes beyond her personally: does radicalism speed up debate, or make it impossible? This week, the sharpest words won. But the law continues on its path: review, amendments, trade-offs. Democracy lives in that gap.
Video unavailable