France's parliament has unanimously acknowledged the state's role in a pesticide scandal that contaminated most people in Guadeloupe and Martinique and has been linked to cancer and other health problems. The vote marks a significant moment in a decades-long fight over chlordecone, a toxic chemical that continued to be used in the French Caribbean after it was banned in mainland France.
The lower house of parliament voted in favour of a bill saying "the state acknowledges its share of responsibility for the health-related, moral, environmental and economic harm suffered" by Guadeloupe, Martinique and their populations.
