According to Reuters, the decision was announced on Sunday against the backdrop of widespread protests by French farmers, driven in part by a planned trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc, as well as by measures to control animal diseases.
French Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard said the tightened checks are intended to ensure that food imported from outside the EU does not contain substances banned within the European Union. She added that a special decree would be adopted shortly, providing for the suspension of imports of certain products in which such banned substances have previously been detected.
“Imports, regardless of where they come from in the world, must comply with our standards. France is setting an example in Europe by issuing an unprecedented decree that concerns more than a dozen food products,” Genevard wrote on the social media platform X.
The measures will apply, in particular, to products such as melons, apples, apricots, cherries, strawberries, grapes, and potatoes, which will only be allowed for sale in France if they are free from residues of banned pesticides. Strict requirements will also apply to imports of avocados, mangoes and guavas from South America, as well as certain citrus fruits from other regions of the world.
Earlier, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated that any imported products found to contain traces of herbicides and fungicides banned in the EU—namely mancozeb, glufosinate, thiophanate-methyl and carbendazim—will not be permitted on the French market.
While Germany and Spain support the Mercosur agreement, critics in France argue that it would open the door to cheap imports of South American agricultural products, particularly beef, that do not meet the European Union’s environmental and food safety standards.
“Protecting our farmers, safeguarding the health of the French people and standing up to any form of unfair competition while ensuring that our rules are respected—this is non-negotiable. It is up to the European Commission to make sure this is applied across the board. If necessary, we will do it again,” Genevard stressed.
PigUA.info, based on materials from thepigsite.com