French parliament unanimously acknowledges state responsibility for chlordecone pesticide harm in Caribbean

France's lower house of parliament voted unanimously in favour of a bill acknowledging state responsibility for the health, environmental and economic harm caused by the pesticide chlordecone in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The Senate had already approved the measure.

The bill states that "the state acknowledges its share of responsibility for the health-related, moral, environmental and economic harm suffered" by Guadeloupe, Martinique and their populations. It sets goals for decontaminating land and water, compensating victims, making scientific research a national priority, and supporting affected fishermen and farmers. The legislation also calls for further work on illnesses affecting women and for a government mission to define future reparations.

Chlordecone, also known as Kepone, was used on banana plantations on the two islands from 1972 to 1993 to combat weevils. France banned the chemical on the mainland in 1990 but allowed its use in Guadeloupe and Martinique for another three years despite warnings about its dangers. Chlordecone was banned worldwide in 2009 under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

More than 90% of adults on the two islands have been contaminated, according to France's national public health agency Santé Publique France. France's health and food safety agency Anses has found a probable link between chlordecone exposure and prostate cancer, while studies have also identified harmful effects on the nervous and hormonal systems and on reproduction.

"With this text, which recognises the suffering of our populations, Parliament has carried out an act of legislative justice," said Elie Califer, the Socialist lawmaker from Guadeloupe who introduced the bill. "It will still be necessary to fight to obtain full compensation," he added. Califer has also called for a dedicated fund for victims.

Not all lawmakers were fully satisfied. Guadeloupe lawmaker Olivier Serva said he was "not entirely satisfied" with the outcome. "But we've come far, given that the state initially didn't even want to acknowledge its partial responsibility," Serva said. Martinique official Serge Letchimy said the vote came "to shatter a system that tramples on the truth, absolves the guilty and scorns the victims."

One point of disagreement during parliamentary debates concerned recognition of the anxiety felt by residents worried about developing chlordecone-related illnesses. Senators added the provision to the bill, but it was later removed at the government's request. The Paris appeal court in March 2025 acknowledged the mental suffering of residents living with fears about possible health consequences. The court is due to decide on 22 June whether to reopen a criminal investigation into the scandal after magistrates closed the case in 2023, saying too much time had passed to secure convictions.