Climate policy crisis adds to Macron troubles before 2027 elections

Environmental policy has become the latest source of tension threatening French President Emmanuel Macron’s already weakened political camp ahead of next year’s presidential election. A dispute surrounding the resignation attempt of his ecological transition minister, Monique Barbut, and her subsequent decision to remain in office has further exposed divisions within the government’s centrist coalition.

The episode highlighted growing fractures inside Macron’s alliance, which risks being severely weakened if internal divisions continue ahead of the 2027 presidential race, according to an analysis by the Politico journal.

The publication calls the crisis a reflection of a broader political challenge facing governments across Europe: how to balance ambitious climate policies with the economic pressures faced by farmers and industries struggling with rising costs and increasingly difficult production conditions.

The latest controversy erupted after lawmakers approved amendments allowing France’s food and drug safety regulator to authorize the use of the controversial pesticide acetamiprid for nut producers under exceptional circumstances. The legislation also doubled the amount of water farmers can store over the next decade, despite concerns over the impact of climate change-driven droughts.

Around one-third of lawmakers from Macron’s Renaissance party either voted against or abstained from the bill after the amendments were introduced.

“Politically, we’ve managed to turn a law with more than 70 articles into a fruitless, dogmatic debate,” said Jérémy Decerle, a Renaissance member of the European Parliament and former head of the Young Farmers union.

The dispute has also intensified competition within Macron’s political camp, with two of his former prime ministers — Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal — preparing presidential bids that could split the centrist vote in 2027.

“The 2027 election is still likely to be shaped by the current backlash against environmental policies,” said Corinne Lepage, a former environment minister under Jacques Chirac. However, she warned that climate adaptation would remain a central issue as France faces increasingly visible impacts of global warming.

“Given what France is already experiencing — heatwaves, rising mortality — climate and adaptation will inevitably become central campaign issues. We can no longer pretend they're secondary,” Lepage said.

Since Macron lost his parliamentary majority in 2022, successive governments have slowed or weakened parts of the green agenda under pressure from farmers, conservatives and local authorities. Measures affecting low-emission zones, urban planning regulations and environmental spending have all been scaled back.

Conflicting views on Acetamiprid

For Barbut, a former climate diplomat and head of WWF France with limited political experience, the pesticide dispute became a breaking point. After delivering an emotional address to her staff, she announced her resignation on LinkedIn on July 22, describing the legislation as “one environmental setback too many.”

She argued that forces opposing her climate transition agenda had become “too powerful” for her to continue effectively in the role.

The debate over acetamiprid has become particularly contentious because the pesticide remains authorized in the European Union but banned in France. Farmers’ groups argue that the restriction places French producers at a competitive disadvantage compared with European counterparts.

France’s National Order of Physicians has opposed any return of the pesticide, warning that uncertainty remains over substances that could potentially expose populations to serious health risks, including neurodevelopmental disorders and chronic diseases.

Some laboratory and animal studies have suggested acetamiprid could contribute to DNA damage or interfere with hormonal systems, although the US Environmental Protection Agency has classified it as “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.”

“If France is the only country in Europe raising so many questions about this product, we need to take a hard look at ourselves. The other 26 European countries aren’t looking to poison their populations,” Decerle said.

Had Barbut stepped down permanently, Macron would have been forced to appoint his ninth environment minister since taking office in 2017 — a difficult record for a president who entered power promising to make climate action a central priority.

By Nazrin Sadigova