France relaunches paused pesticide reduction plan

But change of indicator is “a sign of the end” of reduction efforts, says researcher

After months of delay, during which many environmental researchers feared it might be binned, the French government has published an updated version of its Ecophyto plan to reduce pesticide use.

The previous Ecophyto plan, which was launched in 2015, was put on hold by prime minister Gabriel Attal at the start of February during nationwide protests by farmers.