individuals and associations launch an “appeal from La Rochelle” for a real agricultural transition

As Europe prepares to extend the authorization of glyphosate, a march is organized on Saturday September 16 in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) to demand a plan to phase out pesticides. The local associations, at the origin of the march, will be followed by unions, NGOs and elected officials who intend to put an end to intensive agriculture.

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Franck Rinchet Girollet lives near La Rochelle, in an agricultural plain in which air quality studies have identified the presence of 30 to 40 types of pesticides. Her son, aged 6 and a half, is recovering from bone cancer. With other parents whose children have also fallen ill, Franck Rinchet Grollet embodies and unites the fight for a healthy environment. “A plain like ours is a typical example of the impact of intensive agriculture and pesticides on the environment and on health”assures the member of the “Future, health, environment” association.

This association was created by families. He joined it after an Inserm study which established that there was six times more risk of pediatric cancers in two municipalities in his sector. The association is calling for an end to pesticides and a real agricultural transition. According to Franck Rinchet Grollet, “The real questions are ‘Why are we allowing these products into the environment? When will we realize that the impact is massive?'”

“Our fight is not against farmers, they use products that benefit from marketing authorizations and they buy them legally.”

Franck Rinchet Girollet

at franceinfo

Usually, the fight against pesticides is regulatory and technical. The march on Saturday, September 16 allows us to see the faces of those who consider themselves suffering its effects.