French child compensated for birth defects caused by glyphosate

The French Pesticide Victims' Compensation Fund is paying compensation to a teenager who has suffered numerous illnesses since birth as a result of glyphosate. This is the first case of its kind in France.

A French farmer sprays glyphosate herbicide "Roundup 720" made by agrochemical giant Monsanto, in northwestern France on 23 April, 2021. (Illustration photo) © Jean-François Monier / AFP

Since March 2022, the child, now aged 16, has been receiving €1,000 a month from a French compensation fund (Fonds d'indemnisation des victimes des pesticides), after scientific experts established a causal link between his mother's exposure to glyphosate when she was pregnant and her son's birth defects.

The boy, named as Théo Grataloup, has already undergone 54 operations and is still suffering from damage to his respiratory system, oesophagus and larynx.

The compensation will be reviewed in March 2025.

1/n - Victoire, des années de combat enfin reconnues !

Un comité d'experts du Fonds d'Indemnisation des Victimes des Pesticides a reconnu officiellement comme probable le lien entre le #glyphosate et les malformations de Théo.

C'est à ma connaissance une première mondiale. pic.twitter.com/C31ww31Ozn

— Sabine Grataloup (@sabine_38) October 9, 2023

The family did not wish to disclose details of the case when the decision was handed down because they feared being targeted by a hostile campaign on social networks as was the case after they filed a complaint against glyphosate manufacturers in 2017 - a case that is still ongoing.

The decision comes as the European Union is set to vote (13 October) on extending the EU approval for the use of glyphosate for ten years.

"This is fantastic news for Théo and his family, who have been fighting for years for recognition of the responsibility of glyphosate in the birth defects affecting Théo," Bertrand Repolt,  the lawyer for Théo Grataloup's family told RFI on Tuesday.

EU vote on glyphosate use extension

"This is obviously a strong signal that glyphosate is dangerous and harmful, at a crucial time when the European authorities are considering whether to re-authorise the product, which will be examined on 12 and 13 October," said Repolt.

The EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) previously indicated that it had not identified any "areas of critical concern" regarding the use of the herbicide.

However,  in 2015, the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a "probable human carcinogen".

• EU proposes 10-year extension for glyphosate herbicide linked to cancer

"This is a decision that will add weight to the proceedings we have initiated on behalf of Theo and his family before the courts, to ensure that Monsanto's responsibility in the production and marketing of this product is recognised this time," explained Repolt.

On Tuesday, the environmental group Agir pour l'environnement in a press statement called on the French president and France "to vote against" any re-authorisation of Glyphosate use for ten years in the EU.

"Negotiations are still underway and France is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the European [Union] takes account of France's comments", government spokesman Olivier Véran told the press on Wednesday.

"We have one objective: to move away from glyphosate", and "we want this to be effective and operational as soon as there is an alternative to glyphosate", he added.

(with newswires)