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Some protesters, wearing beekepers masks and overalls, lay
motionless in coffins while others stood, heads bowed in respect as
a bugle played during the ceremony on a patch of garden near the Les
Invalides museum.
Green campaigners say bee colonies in western Europe have been
ravaged by the use of neonicotinoids, a group of pesticides based on
the chemical structure of nicotine.
Bee keepers in France have pressed the government to take more
action to protect their livelihoods.
"It's been talked about for 20 years now but nothing's been done
about it," said one campaigner.
"There's going to be a big blowout and in the very short term," said
another, both dressed in white beekeeper suits.
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An EU court upheld on Thursday a partial ban on three neonicotinoids,
saying the European Commission had been right in 2013 to restrict
their use to protect bees. The restriction means they cannot be used
on maize, rapeseed and some spring cereals.
Crop chemical companies have argued that real-world evidence is not
there to blame a global plunge in bee numbers on neonicotinoid
pesticides alone.
The ceremony came days after lawmakers failed to secure the
inclusion of a ban on the use of glysophate -- widely used in
weedkillers - in new legislation even after President Emmanuel
Macron promised its prohibition in three years time.
(Reporting by Lucien Libert; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by
Richard Lough and Robin Pomeroy)
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