France enacts emergency law for agricultural sovereignty and food security

France has adopted an emergency law to strengthen its agricultural sovereignty, published in the Journal officiel de la République française (JORF No. 0192) of 19 August 2026. The text, Law No. 2026-796 of 18 August 2026 on the emergency protection and sovereignty of agriculture (NOR AGRS2603566L), was signed on 18 August and entered the official record the following day, alongside the ruling of the Constitutional Council that validated most of its provisions.

The law, which grew from a government bill tabled on 8 April 2026, comprises 61 articles spread over five titles. It was referred to the Constitutional Council on 24 July 2026 by more than 200 deputies, who challenged both the procedural placement and the constitutionality of numerous articles.

Regional committees and “agricultural future projects”

The centrepiece of the law is a new mechanism of “agricultural future projects” (projets d’avenir agricole) inserted into the rural and maritime fishing code. These projects are recognized by regional steering committees, co-chaired by the State’s representative in the region and the president of the regional council, and associating the regional chamber of agriculture.

• Projects may cover one or several regions and must respect the priorities set out in the preliminary book of the rural code.
• They benefit from priority in State and territorial financial support, with reciprocal commitments possible through contract.
• They target the sectors for which a structural deficit was identified at the “conferences on food sovereignty”.
• They may also cover the valorisation of French wild game as a sustainable food sector, innovation and high value-added agricultural sectors.

The committees must ensure implementation without delay and take into account any territorial food projects already formalized on the relevant perimeter. Specific adaptations are provided for Guyana, Martinique, Mayotte, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, where the reference to the regional council is replaced by the local assembly or territorial council.

Protecting French production and collective catering

The law tightens controls on imports and on the use of plant protection products. It allows the minister responsible for food safety to suspend or set conditions on the introduction into France of food or feed containing residues of active substances whose approval has been withdrawn in the European Union, with an annual report to Parliament and a specific section on overseas territories.

• The grace period for the sale and use of existing stocks of plant protection products is set at the maximum allowed by Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009.
• Exceptional derogations are provided for the substance flupyradifurone (sugar beet, cherries and apples) and acetamiprid (hazelnuts), for one year renewable twice.
• A new administrative fine of up to 10% of average annual turnover sanctions breaches of import measures.
• Meals served in public collective catering must henceforth comprise only products originating from the European Union, the EEA or overseas territories, and at least 30% of quality or sustainable products.

Constitutional scrutiny

The Constitutional Council, in its decision No. 2026-914 DC of 14 August 2026, declared several provisions contrary to the Constitution, including parts of articles 14, 16, 26, 32, 35, 36, 46 and 55, notably on procedural grounds. It upheld the core of the law, including the agricultural future projects, the plant protection derogations and the new criminal aggravating circumstances for offences committed on agricultural land.

The law directly affects farmers, who gain a priority channel for State financing, and territorial authorities, which co-chair the recognition committees. For readers, it marks a decisive step in France’s drive to reduce dependence on non-European food imports and to secure the supply of strategic agricultural sectors.

Source: Journal officiel de la République française, No. 0192 of 19 August 2026, section I (official references: Law No. 2026-796 of 18 August 2026, NOR AGRS2603566L; Constitutional Council decision No. 2026-914 DC of 14 August 2026).