Paul François says he is lucky to be alive. In April 2004, he went to clean out what he thought was the empty tank in his agricultural spraying machine. When he opened the cap, noxious fumes of some remaining pesticides escaped. He was not wearing a mask and therefore breathed in a lungful. Immediately admitted to hospital, he fell into a coma.

Since then his illness continues to affect his kidneys and nervous system and he has again fallen into comas on several occasions. Today, he is working on his case against Monsanto, the company that produced Lasso, the culprit pesticide that was taken off the market in 2007.

The victims

Paul told his story at the first meeting of a network of ‘pesticide victims’ in a small hotel near his farm in Poitiers. The 40 participants had gathered to work out how they could help each other, and what could be done to protect the health of others.

One of the difficulties in putting together a strong legal case – against either a pesticide company or the French authorities – is finding clear evidence from scientific studies and asking doctors to make the link between exposure to pesticides and a medical condition. François told the meeting that medical professionals had often turned him away: ‘They tell me: “Go home, you are depressed because you are ill”,’ he said.

Agricultural worker, Gilbert Vende in Bourges was luckier – at least from the perspective of finding a more helpful medical professional. In 2001, after being drenched with gouache used to protect seeds in autumn, he suffered serious breathing problems. A year later, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His doctor gave him a letter linking his condition to exposure to ‘pesticides, insecticides, fungicides et gouache’. But even with this document, it took extraordinary diligence to win his case in October 2005 when he became the first person in France to have Parkinson’s recognised as an occupational disease. He is now embarked on helping others.