www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

The French government on Wednesday adopted a bill in line with EU rules on
crop trials and genetically modified organisms (GMO) cultivation, despite
opposition from ecologists, February 2006.

"We decided not to close the door (to GMO technologies), while keeping a
close watch on what is done," French junior research minister Francois
Goulard said.

Under the bill, French farmers would have to officially register any
plantation of modified crops, filling a legal void that allowed 1,000
hectares of GMO maize to be grown undeclared last year, out of 90 million
hectares grown worldwide.

The French government hoped the law bill could be passed by the end of the
year by the French parliament, which is to start debating the bill by next
month.

Polls showed that sixty percent of the French are hostile to GMO crops and
that 78 percent would back a temporary moratorium until their impact on
health and the environment is fully explained.

Environmentalists though say that not enough time has elapsed to assess the
long-term impacts of GM crops. Scientists worry that the inserted genes in
GM crops contaminate other species through wind-borne pollen.

[english.people.com.cn]

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