8 dates to understand this pesticide
2. Nicotine: this formidable natural insecticide used for centuries
Since the 18th century, nicotine is used as an insecticide. Native Americans had already noticed its effects. Plants that contain it are protected against insects, mites and certain fungi. Its use developed in the interwar period from powders resulting from the manufacture of cigarettes.
3. Synthetic nicotine: the discovery that changed everything for science
At the beginning of the 20th century, the nicotine molecule, discovered in France in 1809, is synthesized. We then understand its biological role: its compounds act on a “nicotinic receptor” in the cells of the nervous system of insects, identical in humans.
4. Neonicotinoids: these ultra-powerful insecticides that invade crops
In the 1980s, Bayer, BASF and other agrochemical giants are developing related molecules that are more effective in their neurotoxic use in insects: neonicotinoids (NNI). Sprayed, they spread throughout the plant’s body, protecting it against insects that consume it.
5. Imidacloprid: the star pesticide with controversial effects
In 1985, the first NNI is developed: it is imidacloprid, active substance in Gaucho (to treat cereals) or Confidor (fruit trees). Since then, three chemical families of NNI have been produced with different uses and neurotoxic effects.
6. Bees in danger: why France banned neonicotinoids
On September 1, 2018, France bans NNIs due to the numerous toxic effects on bees and other essential pollinating insects. To date, they represent a third of the insecticides sold worldwide.
7. Acetamiprid: the controversial return of a pesticide banned in Europe
In 2021, to protect sugar beet seedlings, France authorizes by derogation the use of an NNI: acetamiprid. Exemptions stopped two years later, because they were deemed illegal by the European Union. In 2024, the European Food Safety Authority will further lower the tolerated levels in fruits and vegetables.
8. Duplomb Law: why neonicotinoids are still divisive in 2026
In 2025, the Duplomb 1 law attempts to reauthorize the use of NNIs. But the Constitutional Council censures certain provisions of the law, accusing it of too broad exemptions for a product recognized as dangerous. Tabled in February 2026, the Duplomb 2 law is once again trying to obtain exemptions.
