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France has no commercial production or field trials of genetically engineered (GE) crops. The French livestock industry depends on imported GE products for feed, especially soybean, rapeseed, and corn.

France as a member of the European Community has implemented EU regulations for the import of animal and plant products.

France, as a member of the European Union (EU), generally follows EU directives, regulations, and obligations. This report focuses on food laws in force in France that cover areas which are not EU harmonized.

Recent French decrees set specific targets for reducing single-use plastic package waste by 2025, including a mandate for reusing packaging, starting 1 January 2022. The decrees are based on the Circular Economy and Fight Against Waste Law which ultimately seeks to ban all plastic packaging by 2040.

France is the third largest industrial hemp producer in the world and the top producer in Europe. The French hemp production and processing industry is heavily regulated with national and European Union laws and regulations.

A French ban on the sales of fruit and vegetables with identifying stickers threatens exports of U.S. sweet potatoes (approx. $20 million in sales annually) and grapefruits ($8 million annually).

During the Covid-19 pandemic the French government designated the retail sector as essential and most firms had a continuity in operations.

Corsica is a mountainous French island found off its southern coast in the Mediterranean Sea.

The food processing industry an important sector for France. In general, it has successfully managed the Covid-19 crisis by adapting to cost increases and more stringent sanitary measures.

France bans the cultivation of crops that are derived from modern biotechnology and limits research into their use.

France imported $1.38 billion of food and agricultural products from the United States in 2019.

France, as a member of the European Union (EU), generally follows EU directives, regulations, and obligations.