Stage Set for Next Battle Over GMO Corn in France

France’s top administrative court overturned on Thursday a government ban on the cultivation of a genetically modified (GMO) corn made by American biotech giant Monsanto.

In overturning the ban, the Counsel of the State said that a ban “can only be taken by a member state in case of an emergency or if a situation poses a major risk.”

A ban on the corn, MON810, was originally enacted in 2008, overturned by a French court in 2011 and reinstated in March of 2012.

France’s Minister of Agriculture, Stéphane Le Foll, pushed back against the court’s ruling on Thursday, saying the Counsel of State is “not the decider” of who can and cannot ban GMOs, and said the “government line would be the same: we are not in favor of GMOs.”