French ecology minister Monique Barbut reverses resignation after Macron guarantees on pesticides law

The trigger: pesticide reintroduction

On Monday 20 July, Monique Barbut, France's minister for ecological transition, discovered that the final version of the agricultural emergency law included provisions to reintroduce two banned pesticides, acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, for struggling sectors such as hazelnuts and sugar beet. The measure, which she had been assured would be removed, was set for a vote in the National Assembly that evening. During a meeting at the prime minister's office, she told agriculture minister Annie Genevard and minister Sébastien Lecornu, "je me casse" (I'm leaving), according to a witness. Barbut, a 69-year-old former head of WWF France who entered government in October 2025, said she felt "totally fooled" by the reversal.

48 hours of crisis

Barbut left the Assembly before the vote ended on Monday night, disillusioned. On Tuesday morning she met again with Lecornu, and they acknowledged their "complete disagreement" on both substance and form. By Tuesday afternoon, with the Senate having given final approval to the law, she decided to formally submit her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron. That evening she told a small group of journalists, "Today, in my head, I am gone tomorrow." On Wednesday morning she published a LinkedIn post calling the pesticide reintroduction "the environmental step too far" and confirming her intention to resign.

This reversal constitutes the environmental step too far.

Macron's intervention and guarantees

On Wednesday 22 July, Barbut went to the Élysée Palace to hand in her resignation. Macron refused to accept it. After discussions, she agreed to stay, with her office stating she would "continue her mission". Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said the president and prime minister had agreed on "three fundamental pillars" for her action: forests, water, and environmental health. Barbut later told Les Echos that she would remain "as long as I have the guarantee to act", adding that she felt "very free" but "always loyal". She also secured commitments on a decree to reduce cadmium and on protecting drinking water catchments.

I will stay as long as I have the guarantee to act.

Reactions: government relief, NGO dismay

Bregeon welcomed the outcome, saying "it's a good thing she stays" and insisting there were "no fundamental disagreements" within the government. Environmental groups, however, reacted with disbelief. They described the reversal as "incomprehensible" and a "very worrying signal", accusing Barbut of endorsing the government's "policy of destruction". One NGO representative said she had "swallowed snake after snake". The law gives the health security agency Anses the power to conditionally re-authorise the two pesticides, a move Barbut said she remains "totally opposed to" but respects as a democratic vote.

It's a good thing she stays.

Barbut's political future

Barbut, who had been persuaded by Macron to enter politics "reluctantly" in autumn 2025, described the episode as her "first and last political experience". She is the eighth minister to hold the ecology portfolio since Macron took office in 2017. Despite the guarantees, she acknowledged the deep rift over the pesticide decision, saying she was "in disagreement with the way, in form as in substance, the final version of the agricultural bill was stitched together, particularly on acetamiprid". The crisis has exposed the fragility of the environmental brief within the French government, but for now Barbut remains in post.