Why has glyphosate still not been banned? This is the question being put to politicians by the victims of this herbicide, as the European Commission extends its authorisation for ten more years.
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00:00 Glyphosate, a herbicide very effective in getting rid of weeds. It was put on the market in 1974. At the time, we did not suspect its health effects.
00:12 Canada should have died.
00:16 They said it was the first 100% biodegradable weed. That's why we chose it.
00:23 The European Union has just renewed its authorization for 10 years.
00:26 Why is there so much debate and so much stake in this pesticide, which is the most widely used in the world?
00:31 That's what I'm telling you in "Witness".
00:33 The World Health Organization classified glyphosate as a probable cancer for humans in 2015.
00:46 We came here to Quiberon to meet Ludovic.
00:49 Ludovic is 52 years old. He was a landscaper.
00:52 Glyphosate literally destroyed his life.
00:56 I am Ludovic Mauger. I was a landscaper.
01:02 I was affected by a cancer that I caught with pesticides while working.
01:10 My children, my son, I taught him to swim on this beach.
01:19 These are memories that come back.
01:25 It's moving.
01:27 Since 2020, Ludovic's life has become a daily battle.
01:36 He spent 6 months in intensive care and had to undergo 12 successive chemotherapies.
01:43 My disease was very difficult to find.
01:48 It is a very rare lymphoma.
01:51 I had medical malpractice for 6 or 7 months.
01:56 How did you work at the time? How did you work with glyphosate?
02:02 20 years ago, we found it everywhere.
02:10 There was no disinfectant like we need now.
02:14 We worked with a sprayer on our back, even with a t-shirt underneath.
02:22 We did it manually, without a mask, without gloves, without anything at all.
02:27 Roundup, Gallop, Clipper and others, these herbicides based on glyphosate,
02:33 are at the time considered harmless, on the pretext of some precautionary measures.
02:42 Herbs are so powerful, they attack the pulverizers' seal.
02:47 So, automatically, it creates leaks.
02:50 In fact, we often have a soaked back.
02:54 When I fell ill, I didn't really connect with glyphosate.
03:01 Until a certain point, of course,
03:04 when blood tests showed that I had the poisoned blood of glyphosate.
03:09 My compensation was very derisory.
03:12 Monsanto paid me 300 euros per month for my compensation for my illness.
03:19 I still lost my mind.
03:21 I was at a moment when I didn't recognize my wife, my children.
03:26 It's moving. It's very hard.
03:30 Not so strong.
03:32 Today, Ludovic no longer has the strength to pursue Monsanto.
03:36 However, many lawsuits have been won around the world
03:39 against the German firm Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018.
03:43 We have an appointment with Maître Laforgue.
03:50 He's a lawyer specialized in these issues.
03:52 He was the first to be able to link the pathology of his clients
03:55 and the use of herbicides or pesticides.
03:58 He won the first lawsuit against Monsanto.
04:01 We are facing a real pesticide lobby
04:04 to try to hide the danger of pesticides
04:08 so that they can continue to be used by agricultural operators and their employees.
04:13 This lobby intervenes at all levels.
04:15 It first intervenes at the European level
04:18 when the active substances are approved.
04:21 The studies that have been taken into account
04:24 for this approval renewal are very important.
04:27 And above all, the studies that should have been taken into account
04:31 to show the danger of this active substance
04:34 have been ruled out for bad reasons by the European authorities.
04:40 We contacted Bayer and the pro-pesticide lobbies.
04:44 None of them gave us an interview.
04:46 Two-thirds of European citizens claim the total ban on pesticides such as glyphosate
04:51 according to a report by the European Institute for the Prevention of Pesticide Abuse.
04:55 Like these NGOs and hundreds of citizens who are being heard in the street.
04:59 This is the case of Joao, a researcher in agribusiness.
05:03 At the European Parliament, we met a European Parliament member
05:06 from the PASSE.
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