Roundup to Be Banned In France, Phase Out To Occur By 2022

France appears set to ban glyphosate, the controversial ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup that has been linked to non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other health risks, indicating that the herbicide may be phased out by 2022. 

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on Monday that he has asked the agricultural and environmental ministries in France to develop a plan by the end of this year for the phase out of glyphosate, which would include alternative options for the country’s farmers.

The move comes amid worldwide concerns over the risk of cancer from Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers, which are commonly used by farmers, landscapers, maintenance crews and homeowners.

Philippe also said that France intends to vote against a proposal by the European Commission to extend the license for Roundup and other glyphosate based products.

The European Union is set to vote on October 4, over whether to extend the licenses granting approval for glyphosate use in the EU for another 10 years. However, a “no” vote from France could derail the effort and potentially result in a glyphosate ban.

A qualified majority of member EU states must vote in agreement on the license renewal. However, in the past, the vote has been a razor’s edge decision, because of abstentions by Germany and France. Some observers indicate that if France votes against the renewal due to the glyphosate risks, that could be enough for the Monsanto-based weed killers to lose their license throughout Europe.

France and a number of other European countries became alarmed over the safety of weedkillers like Roundup following a report by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen in mid-2015.

The move has sparked world-wide concerns about why Monsanto failed to provide warnings and recommend safety precautions for users of the weedkiller, and resulted in an avalanche of Roundup lawsuits filed in courts throughout the United States on behalf of individuals who indicate they developed various forms of non-Hodgkins lymphoma following exposure to glyphosate.

The exact date of the French ban has not yet been set. While Philippe referenced a gradual phase-out, some have said the Roundup ban would be in effect by 2022, and other French officials simply said the phase-out would take place over the next five to seven years.

The ban is significant, since France is the largest grain producer in the European Union.

U.S. Roundup Litigation

According to allegations raised in the U.S. Roundup litigation, Monsanto knew or should have known about the health risks associated with glyphosate for years, yet engaged in an active campaign to suppress information and warnings for consumers.

Given the similar questions of fact and law presented in lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) established consolidated pretrial proceedings for all federal Roundup cases in October 2016, centralizing the claims before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in the Northern District of California to reduce duplicative discovery, prevent conflicting rulings and serve the convenience of the parties, witnesses and the courts.

As part of the coordinated MDL proceedings, Judge Chhabria has previously determined that the Roundup litigation will be bifurcated, first addressing general causation about the link between the widely used weedkiller and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, before addressing case-specific issues about whether Roundup caused cancer for each individual plaintiff.

Following resolution of any motions to dismiss based on general causation, if a Roundup settlement or other resolution for the litigation is not reached during the first phase of discovery, it is expected that Judge Chhabria will establish a bellwether process, where a small group of cases will be prepared for early trial dates to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that is likely to be repeated throughout the lawsuits.