Shortly after purchasing the agro-giant Monsanto in 2018, Bayer lost a high-profile case in California when a jury awarded damages to a former groundskeeper with terminal cancer he alleged was caused by prolonged exposure to Roundup weedkiller. And while the Roundup weedkiller lawsuit in California was the first to go to trial, action against the controversial chemical has spread globally. Most recently, Officials have announced a ban on Roundup weedkiller in France.
A court in Lyon ruled that France’s food and environmental safety agency ANSES failed to take potential health risks into account when it approved Roundup Pro 360 for sale in 2017. As a result, the court cancelled the license for Roundup Pro 360, placing an immediate ban on the weedkiller.
The court found that ANSES had not respected a precautionary principle in French law by failing to conduct a specific evaluation of the health risks.
“Despite the European Union’s approval of the active substance (glyphosate), the court considered that scientific studies and animal experiments showed Roundup Pro 360 … is a potentially carcinogenic product for humans, suspected of being toxic for human reproduction and for aquatic organisms,” the court said in a summary of its ruling.
The court would ultimately cite the World Health Organization’s 2015 assessment that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen in its ruling.
Environmental and health advocates were quick to applaud the court’s decision. Former French environmental minister Corinne Lepage said on Twitter that the ruling was “a great first, which must be repeated.” Lepage’s environmental association CRIIGEN was responsible for bringing the case before the court.
Shortly after the ruling Bayer announced it would be appealing the decision, saying scientific studies have proven the safety of glyphosate.
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