WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/FRA/68 
26 September 2007 
 (07-4050) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   French 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  FRANCE
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:  
Ministère de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche  (Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) 
Direction Générale de la Forêt et des Affaires Rurales/Sous – Direction de l’Environnement 
et de la Ruralite/Bureau des Sols et de l’Eau  (Directorate-General of Forestry and Rural 
Affairs/Sub-Directorate of the Environmen t and Rurality/Soil and Water Management 
Bureau) 78, rue de Varenne 75 349 PARIS 07 SP Tel.: +(0)1 49 55 59 27  
Fax: +(0)1 49 55 59 87 
E-mail: kristell.cohu@agriculture.gouv.fr 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers and E-mail and website 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):  
 Sprayers (new and used) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Décret relatif aux 
prescriptions applicables aux matériels, vendus neufs ou d’occasion, destinés à 
l’application de produits phytosanitaires   (Decree establishing the requirements for new or 
used equipment designed for the application of phytosanitary products) (4 pages, in French).
6. Description of content:   Pursuant to Article 41 of  the Law on Water and Aquatic 
Environments ( Loi sur l'eau et les milieux aquatiques , LEMA), No. 2006-1772 of 
30 December 2006, new or used sprayers sold  by mechanized equipment professionals for 
use within national territory are required to  comply with provisions designed to reduce 
environmental and public health risks. 
 The implementing legislation for this Article was developed on the basis of the 
principles of the EC doctrine of the "New Appr oach":  the notified draft Decree provides for 
requirements, to be implemented by means of an  Order, and the framework therefor.  It also G/TBT/N/FRA/68 
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  6. Description of content:   (cont'd) 
provides for the publication for information purpo ses of references of standards, technical 
specifications and manufacturing processes establishing presumption of conformity with these requirements.  The Order and the notice are both being notified at the same time as this draft Decree. 
 These requirements do not address operator safety, insofar as such provisions are 
already established in the Labour Code as a result of the transposition of Machinery 
Directive 98/37/EC. 
 Article 1 of the notified draft Decree in troduces a number of Articles into the Rural 
Code.  These Articles cover the definition of vari ous terms used to establish rules relating to 
sprayers, the requirements for new sprayers , the requirements for used sprayers and 
miscellaneous provisions (penalties and Orders to be issued to implement the Decree): 
Definitions: 
Article D. 256-1 defines the term "sprayer" on the basis of the definition of machinery in 
the Machinery Directive (also defined in Ar ticle R. 233-83 and R. 233-83-1 of the Labour 
Code as a result of the transposition of Article 1 of Machinery Directive 98/37/EC).  It 
makes a distinction between "new sprayers", the requirements for which are applicable as of their design, and "used sprayers", the applicable  requirements for which are to be defined in 
the light of their possible rehabilitation.  This distinction is similar to that established with 
regard to machinery in Article R-233-49-3 of the Labour Code. 
This Article also defines the term "mecha nized equipment professional", upon whom the 
compliance obligation rests with regard to th e sale of sprayers.  The term covers in 
particular sprayer manufacturers and importers as well as agricultural equipment dealers.  It does not, however, include professional sprayer users, such as farmers, cooperatives using 
agricultural equipment or phytosanitary product application service providers, insofar as they are not competent with regard to en suring the compliance of used equipment. 
Requirements for new sprayers 
Article D. 256-2  provides the framework for the re quirements for new sprayers, to be 
established by means of an Order. 
Article D. 256-3  authorizes the use of two procedur es for certifying compliance with these 
requirements by the persons responsible for the first placing of such products on the market: 
− Self-certification if the sprayer is manufactured in accordance with a standard 
establishing presumption of conformity with these essential requirements (in general); 
− type-examination by an authorized body in all other instances (in specific cases 
related to technological innovation). 
In both instances, the persons responsible fo r the first placing of such products on the 
market are required to compile technical environmental documentation and make it 
available to officials in charge of th e detection and recording of offences. 
Article R. 256-4  defines the bodies which, given their accredited competence in the field, 
are authorized to conduct type -examinations.  In the absence of  an accredited body (a priori, 
a very small market), it provides for the establishment, by way of an Order, of a list of authorized bodies. 
Article D. 256-5  defines the mandatory formalities to  be observed following one of these 
conformity certification procedures in order to ensure traceability and controllability at sales 
outlets:  certificate of environmental conformity and marking.  G/TBT/N/FRA/68 
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  6. Description of content:   (cont'd) 
Requirements for used sprayers 
Article D. 256-6  provides the framework for the requi rements for used sprayers, to be 
established by way of an Order, in a similar ma nner to Article D. 256-6 for new sprayers.  It 
also requires that a check to ensure that sp rayers are in good working order be carried out 
during the year prior to sale. 
Article D. 256-7  provides for the issuance and filing of a certificate of environmental 
conformity with these requirements for used sprayers with a view to ensuring their 
traceability and controllability in th e same way as for new sprayers. 
Miscellaneous provisions (penalties and Orders implementing the Decree) 
Article R. 256-8  establishes the penalties applicab le to agricultural machinery 
professionals, while Article L. 256-1 sets out th e specific penalties for persons responsible 
for the first placing of such products on the market. 
Article R. 256-9  specifies the procedures for the statutory reimbursement by offenders of 
the costs involved in the detection and recording of infringements. 
Article D. 256-10  provides that the Decree be implemented by means of a number of 
different Orders.  The Order laying down th e requirements for boom sprayers and tree and 
shrub sprayers is being notified at the same time  as this draft Decree.  The Orders specifying 
the contents of the technical documentation, th e declaration of conformity and the certificate 
of compliance and the position and form of mark ing are currently being developed and will 
be notified at a later date. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  
 The technical rules governing the sale of sprayers, as established by the notified 
draft Order, seek to reduce the environmenta l and public health risks posed by plant 
protection products.  In particular, these rules serve to prevent contamination of the drinking 
water supply network, to limit contamination of the soil, the air or a body of water as a 
result either of product loss during the use of equipment or of effluent generated by such 
use, and to ensure that products are app lied evenly, thereby preventing localized over-
application, and that sprayers are in good working order. 
 These rules form part of the implementation of priority action under the 
Interministerial Plan for reduci ng pesticide-related risks 2006-2009 ( Plan interministériel de 
réduction des risques liés aux pesticides 2006-2009 , PIRRP), published in June 2006 by the 
Ministries responsible for ecology, agriculture, health and consumption in response to the 
following findings:  in 2004, in terms of the quantity of substances sold, France ranked third 
on the world market for phytosanitary products and first on the European market (75,100 tonnes of active substances sold, 90 per cen t of which being for agricultural use);  it 
also ranked fourth in Europe per cultivated h ectare (excluding grass-covered surfaces).  The 
use of these substances can generate direct or indirect risks for humans (both users and the general public, who are exposed via the ai r, water and food) and for ecosystems 
(biodiversity).  The information available demonstrates: 
− Generalized contamination of water by pesticides.  The requirement under the 
Water Framework Directive with regard to  achieving good ecological and chemical 
status by 2015 has currently only been me t by a third of watercourses and half of 
groundwater.  The quality of the water s upply is, on the other hand, good as far as 
pesticides are concerned, with 99 per cen t of analyses being standards-compliant; G/TBT/N/FRA/68 
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  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
(cont'd) 
− the presence of certain pesticides in other compartments of the environment:  in 
soils, with, for example, a high persiste nce of organochlorines which have been 
banned for over ten years, and in the air; 
− potential effects on human health, as shown by epidemiological studies, which may 
be chronic (for example, congenital malformations, cancers, lymphomas) or acute, but without it being systematically possible to prove the causal link.  By way of example, farmers are observed to have a lower incidence of cancer than other 
sectors of the population, but a heightened risk exists for certain specific types of 
cancer. 
 At Community level, a similar finding led the European Union (EU) to adopt a 
series of measures designed to reduce the risk s of pesticide use to the environment and 
human health and, more generally , to achieve a more sustainable use of pesticides as well as 
a significant overall reduction in risks and of th e use of pesticides (cf. the Communication 
from the Commission of 12 July 2006, entitled:  "A Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable 
Use of Pesticides" [COM(2006) 372]).  One elemen t of this strategy is the measure making 
it mandatory for pesticide application equipmen t to meet environmental requirements before 
being placed on the market.  This particular measure was not, however, incorporated into 
the Proposal for a Directive of 12 July 20 06 establishing a framework for Community 
action to achieve a sustainable use of pesticid es, which is currently under review by the 
European Council and the European Parlia ment.  The Commission will subsequently 
propose another directive in this field wh ich could amend Directive 2006/42/EC of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on machinery, and amending 
Directive 95/16/EC. 
 Compliance with the time -frame established in Article 102.I of the Law on Water 
and Aquatic Environments (LEMA), No. 2006- 1772 of 30 December 2006, by the French 
Parliament with regard to the entry into force of this measure (1 January 2009) and with the 
time-limits established in the Water Framew ork Directive (2000/60/EC) for achieving good 
water status (by 2015) requires the prompt adoption of a domestic regulation, pending the 
adoption, at Community level, of a directive harmonizing the environmental requirements applicable to pesticide application equipment. 
 This draft regulation has been well received by the agricultural sector, which 
considers that its impact on farmers' income will be minimal. 
 Compliance with this new regulation will not present any difficulties for 
mechanized equipment professionals. 
 Compliance with the requirements laid down in the draft Order is automatic for all 
new sprayers manufactured in accordance with Pa rts 1, 2 and 3 of Standard NF EN 12 761 
(September 2001):  Sprayers and liquid fertilizer  distributors.  Environmental protection.  
This standard is known to sprayer manufacturer s and its practical applicability has already 
been demonstrated.  Furthermore, the fulfilme nt of certain specific requirements under these 
standards, compliance with which requires stru ctural changes to a sprayer (unless already 
implemented), is required only as of 1 January 2011, to afford manufacturers sufficient time 
to bring their production into line.  Furthermore, the main procedure adopted for 
certification of compliance with these main re quirements (self-certification) is similar to 
that applicable to sprayers under the Machinery Directive 98/37/EC. 
 With regard to used sprayers, only the requirements corresponding to the provisions 
of this standard which do not involve any stru ctural changes and which present the greatest   G/TBT/N/FRA/68 
 Page 5 
 
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
(cont'd) 
environmental benefit have been incorporated  in the measure in order to ensure its 
proportionality.  The requirement in relation to the inspection to ensure that used sprayers 
are in good working order will be extended to a ll sprayers in service, to be conducted every 
five years as from 1 January 2009, pursuant to Article L. 256-2 of the Rural Code.  The 
implementing legislation for this Article will subsequently be notified to the Commission.  
8. Relevant documents:  
Articles L. 256-1 and 2 of the Rural Code: 
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/Vis uArticleCode?commu n=CRURAL&code=&h0=
CRURALNL.rcv&h1=2&h3=84; 
Article L. 253-1 of the Rural Code: 
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/Vis uArticleCode?commu n=CRURAL&code=&h0=
CRURALNL.rcv&h1=2&h3=72; 
Article L. 254-8 of the Rural Code: 
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/Vis uArticleCode?commu n=CRURAL&code=&h0=
CRURALNL.rcv&h1=2&h3=79; 
Article L. 213-1 of the Consumer Code: 
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/Vis uArticleCode?commu n=CCONSO&code=&h0=
CCONSOML.rcv&h1=2&h3=10; 
Articles R. 233-83 and R. 233-83-1 of the Labour Code: 
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/Vis uArticleCode?commu n=CTRAVA&code=&h0=
CTRAVAIR.rcv&h1=2&h3=151. 
9. Proposed date of adoption:  
Proposed date of entry into force:  March 2007 
1 January 2009 
10. Final date for comments:   - 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, E-mail and website addresses,  if available, of other body:  
National enquiry point 
CINORTECH AFNOR 11 avenue Francis Pressensé  93571 Saint Denis La Plaine Cedex