PARIS (Reuters) - France will file a request with the European Union to formally ban the commercial use of the only genetically modified (GMO) crop grown in the country this Friday, Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said.
It has since said it would invoke what is known as a safeguard clause at European Union level to secure a more long term ban though it will be required to provide new, scientific proof of the risks posed by the GMO seed to succeed.
"I inform you that (the safeguard clause) will be formally and legally sent to Brussels tomorrow," Borloo told France 2 television on Thursday.
Monsanto has challenged France's attempts to ban its MON 810 maize technology, describing the move as illegal and harmful to the biotech sector.
The EU itself is set to re-evaluate the use of the MON 810 maize later this year.
The new law would respond to European Union requirements, since 2001, that member states formulate internal guidelines on the use of GMOs.
(Reporting by Valerie Parent and Mathilde Cru; Editing by Michael Roddy)
