France’s highest court has blocked a key part of a contentious farming law that would have brought back a banned pesticide. The court said Thursday that the measure failed to protect the

France's constitutional court on Thursday blocked the re-introduction of a pesticide accused of harming bees, in the latest twist in a fierce political battle in the European Union's biggest agricultural producer.

France’s constitutional court invalidated provisions of a controversial new law that would have allowed the use of a banned pesticide, a move that had prompted a widespread public outcry.