FRANCE: Promotion of biocontrol – Publication of the Law ‘Potier’

The law No.2017-348 concerning the fight against agricultural land grabbing and the development of biocontrol was published on Tuesday 21 March in the French Official Journal.

As for biocontrol, the law first extends the exemptions to the pesticides ban in amenity areas, forests, public roads, and walking paths accessible or opened to the public. Indeed, the use of pesticides is authorised in case of a serious sanitary hazard threatening the sustainability of the historical or biological heritage and that cannot be controlled  by another way, including a non-chemical method.

In addition, the exemption of phytosanitary certification is extended to all biocontrol products, except those being classified, and to the basic substances. So far, this exemption only concerned the list of biocontrol plant protection products set in November 2016 in accordance with articles L.253-5 and L.253-7 of the Rural Code.

The law also extends the exemption of operator certification called Certiphyto for chemical mediators and basic substances.

Lastly, this law re-implements the plant protection products saving certificates (‘CEPP’). Indeed, the Ordinance regarding the experimental CEPP procedure was called off by the Council of State in December 2016 further to an appeal of pesticides producers and distributors.

To download:

Law No.2017-348 concerning the fight against agricultural land grabbing and the development of biocontrol  (in French)

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