Macron blocks French environment minister's resignation

French Environment Minister Monique Barbut will remain in her post after President Emmanuel Macron refused to accept her resignation on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. The dramatic reversal followed a public standoff over a newly approved agricultural bill that allows for the conditional reintroduction of two pesticides banned in France, a measure Barbut had denounced as an unacceptable environmental retreat.

Barbut announced her resignation in a LinkedIn post earlier Wednesday, stating the government had reneged on promises to allow parliamentary debate on removing the pesticide provisions. She called the move "one environmental setback too many." However, following a request from Macron, she agreed to stay. A government spokesperson said the president and minister agreed to disagree on the agriculture bill but found common ground on prioritizing water, forests, and environmental health.

The emergency agricultural legislation was definitively approved by parliament on Tuesday, July 21. It grants the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) the authority to authorize, under strict conditions and for a maximum of three years, the use of...