France, Sept. 3 -- France has been ordered to overhaul its pesticide authorisation procedures after a court ruled on Wednesday that current methods do not adequately protect biodiversity and human health.

The Paris Administrative Court of Appeal delivered the verdict in the "Justice for the Living" case, brought more than three years ago by five environmental groups.

They include Pollinis, a bee and biodiversity advocacy group; Notre Affaire a Tous (Our Common Cause), a climate justice organisation, and the nature conservation group ASPAS.

The campaigners said the state had failed to protect biodiversity through weak pesticide rules.

The court said in a statement that there was "ecological damage resulting from the use of plant protec...