France

The UNAF introduced at this step a request for annulment before the 'Conseil d'Etat' to contest the validity of such a one-year authorization. Since the 'Conseil d'Etat' decision of February 16th 2011 only focused on the procedural question to determine the validity of the ANSES opinion required before marketing authorization, the validity of such an authorization remained an open question. a. The Authorization Procedure under French Law Article R253-384 §1 of the French 'Code rural' lays down that a marketing authorization for a plant protection product is granted for a period of ten years by the French Minister in charge of agriculture, after obtaining the opinion of the ANSES.