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Published on: 05/06/2026 - 2:58 p.m. Modified on: 05/06/2026 - 2:58 p.m.

The number of children suffering from cancer in France is continuously increasing. Other serious childhood pathologies – malformations, neurodevelopmental disorders, reduced intelligence quotient – ​​follow the same trend. Pesticides are increasingly being singled out by the scientific community. However, France remains the leading European consumer and the third globally. Faced with this paradox, doctors, victims and citizens decide to act.

Working on this topic is difficult. It is serious, delicate to approach, complex to explain – but impossible to silence. Few people dare to talk about it. Several accepted then when the day came they decided against it. For two years now, we have been investigating, in parallel with sometimes less serious environmental subjects, the consequences for human health and that of the planet, to make the figures and witnesses speak to this reality: pesticides can make us seriously ill and kill us. Including children. Worse still, they can condemn children exposed in their mothers' wombs.

On a daily basis, the general public is unaware of the danger of pesticides: they are invisible and imperceptible. In fact, we live with it. This leads a large portion of the population to not fully take this topic seriously.

This investigation is based on established scientific data, in particular the 2021 Inserm report establishing the link between exposure to pesticides – especially during pregnancy or early childhood – and an increase in the risk of certain diseases in children such as leukemia.

“Elements to almost ban pesticides”

Some doctors and citizens have decided to act against a French state which, while being informed, continues to authorize the marketing of these products. They testify in this report.

"Whether in children or in adults; because we, in terms of occupational diseases, we also see lymphomas in farmers. Personally, I would say that today we have elements to almost ban pesticides", confides to us - as we are about to leave - (Dominique Tripodi, Head of the environmental occupational pathologies department at the Nantes University Hospital)

A still little-known fact illustrates this contradiction: in 2020, the State created a compensation fund for pesticide victims, recently extended to infants affected in utero. Through this system, the State recognizes the dangerousness of pesticides – a system that is still very little publicized.

Laure Marivain, a former florist, is the first in France to have obtained, in 2023, official recognition of the link between pesticides and the death of her child by cancer.

“We never imagined that there could be so many substances and that all of these substances could enter my body and, unfortunately, poison my unborn child.” (Laure Marivain, mother of Emmy who died at the age of 11)

“Pesticides pass the placental barrier”

Only two hospitals in France have set up consultations dedicated to pesticides and pediatric pathologies. Beyond care, some pediatric doctors are also involved in prevention. It is now established that pesticides can cross the placental barrier, accumulate in the tissues of the fetus - particularly in the brain - and cause serious illnesses in children, often irreversible.

"It is one of the only chemical substances that we have produced, in large quantities, with the aim of killing something living. All other chemical substances are not produced to kill. From the start, we could actually be concerned about the possibility of having deleterious effects on the human population" (Karen Chardon, professor of neurophysiology in Amiens, co-deputy director of the Péritox laboratory)

The Péritox laboratory, in Amiens, has agreed to lift the veil on their alarming conclusions. It is the only team in the world to study how toxic environments can disrupt infants' vital systems, from preconception to the first days of life.

"Of the hundreds of first stools of newborns that we studied, 85% of the samples contained at least one of the 20 pesticides tested. Pesticides pass the placental barrier." (Karen Chardon, professor of neurophysiology in Amiens, co-deputy director of the Péritox laboratory)

Limit the exposure of pregnant and breastfeeding women to pesticides

The aware medical community recommends limiting the exposure of pregnant and breastfeeding women to pesticides in order to protect their health and that of their child. Future parents are also advised, from the preconception period, to avoid treated agricultural areas where pesticides are sprayed. A diet from organic farming, as well as dietary diversification, are also recommended to reduce risks.

“To the extent that we are aware of the link between pollutants and pediatric pathologies and to the extent that I take care of children every day who have palate and lip malformations, I have a duty to give this information to parents.” (Pierre Corre, maxillofacial surgeon and stomatologist)

Since 2023, environmental health has been integrated into paramedical and medical training programs. An advance that allows early childhood professionals to better understand the impacts of pesticides on health and to raise awareness.

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