Duplomb Law, A69, Low Emission Zones: Choosing Between Bulldozers and Cancer

Pesticides, asphalt, and fine particulate matter paint a grim picture of the world emerging from a catastrophic week. On Monday, May 26, the Duplomb agriculture law, heavily influenced by the FNSEA, left the National Assembly in its most environmentally destructive form. By Wednesday, the courts had greenlit the continuation of the A69 highway project. That same day, the Simplification Law and its slew of environmental deregulations reentered parliamentary debate. Also on the agenda was the elimination of low emission zones and increased land development.

“The current situation is untenable,” said Thomas Brail, a long-standing opponent of the A69, capturing the shocking and nightmarish nature of recent events. Environmental policies have never suffered such rapid regressions. Democracy, science, and the public interest have been trampled upon, along with our health. “Will you vote for cancer to become an inevitable part of our lives?” Fleur Breteau, founder of the Cancer Anger collective, challenged outside the National Assembly on May 27.

Like her, 1,279 doctors and researchers have warned the ministers of Health, Agriculture, Labor, and Ecological Transition: “Farmers, residents, and citizens no longer want to be guinea pigs.” Ecologists are also concerned: birds, insects, and other species are expected to suffer severely from the legislation.

Yet, the voices of scientists seem to go unheard, against a backdrop of institutional erosion akin to “Trumpism.” Hard-won achievements, like the ban on neonicotinoids, resulting from years of research and months of advocacy and work, were dismissed in mere hours without substantive discussion. The Duplomb law circumvented debate through a democratic hijacking, and the A69 issue was not revisited substantively.

These decisions, made under the influence of lobbying groups and with relentless state support, run counter to the urgency and desires of the majority. Policies that favor large-scale water storage basins and the expansion of industrial farming affect only a minority of operators, primarily those linked to the FNSEA, the dominant agricultural union. For others, this legislation solves nothing. The construction of the A69, as we head towards a world that is 4°C warmer, is far from receiving widespread support. But it seems that this week was all about bulldozing through opposition.

However, the battle is not over yet. At the A69 site, the bulldozers have not yet restarted, and the opponents, whose “anger has never been stronger,” are already calling to stop the machinery by “any means necessary.” “I will start a thirst strike as soon as construction resumes,” Thomas Brail disclosed to Decatur Metro.

Opponents reject the narrative that these projects are a foregone conclusion: between bike paths, tree planting, and agroecology, halting the construction had opened up alternative possibilities for the deforested lands. Regarding the Duplomb law, environmentalists, scientists, and cancer patients plan to exert significant pressure before the text is reviewed in the joint committee.

This onslaught of dire news is all too often headlined in Decatur Metro. Because it is our mission to decipher these crucial issues, day by day. Yet, we cannot ignore the shock, despair, and anger this news generates among you, our readers, and among us, journalists, witnessing the organized and massive destruction of what we cherish. Each in our own way, we face these challenges by continuing our work and seeking glimmers of hope and reasons for optimism among those committed to crafting a joyous and livable world.

The challenge is immense. But despair is not an option, as you are here, reading, writing to us, and expressing your trust through your messages and donations. With you, we can build counter-powers, foster alternatives, and envision desirable futures… So yes, the times are unbearable, but no, not everything is lost, as we are in this together.