In a landmark ruling for global efforts to curb the use of chemicals in agriculture, United States biotech firm Monsanto has been found guilty of "poisoning" a French farmer.
A court in Lyon decided the agro-business multinational had ruined the health of Paul Francois, 47, a cereal farmer from western France who accidentally inhaled fumes from its Lasso weedkiller in 2004.
Monsanto, a dominant player in the global agriculture industry, now faces a multi-million euro compensation ruling. The company, which claimed the farmer ignored safety procedures, says it will appeal.
The judgment, following a long, legal struggle by Francois, was hailed as a landmark breakthrough by campaigners against the systematic farm use of chemical pesticides and herbicides. "It is a historic decision in so far as it is the first time that a [herbicide] maker is found guilty of such a poisoning," Francois' lawyer, Francois Lafforgue, said.
"This will give encouragement to a lot of other people," Stephane Cottineau, a lawyer specialising in environmental causes, said. "It will now be possible to sue manufacturers whenever there is a clear link between illness and a specific chemical product."