Residents of Guadeloupe and Martinique are intensifying demands for justice after a French court recognized state responsibility for long-term exposure to chlordecone, a highly toxic pesticide used for decades on banana plantations in the French Caribbean. The ruling, issued in March 2025, acknowledged that the state knowingly allowed the use of a dangerous chemical long after its hazards were globally recognized, leaving generations exposed to lasting health consequences.

Chlordecone, banned in the United States in the late 1970s and classified as a carcinogen soon afterward, continued to be used in the French Caribbean until the mid-1990s. Today, more than 90 percent of residents in Guadeloupe and Martinique carry traces of the pesticide in their blood. Both islands record some of the world’s highest rates of prostate cancer, along with a growing list of associated reproductive and developmental health issues.

The recent court ruling recognized 11 victims in a landmark administrative case: individuals who developed prostate cancer after years of exposure, and others who suffered repeated miscarriages linked to environmental contamination. The judgment ordered the French state to compensate affected residents, acknowledging emotional suffering and long-term health impacts. Compensation amounts remain relatively small — up to €10,000 per person — but the symbolic weight of the ruling is significant. It offers the first judicial validation that exposure to chlordecone constituted state failure, opening the door to thousands of potential future claims.

In anticipation of broader legal repercussions, authorities have already moved to challenge the ruling before the country’s highest administrative court. This decision has triggered renewed anger across the French Caribbean, where residents view the appeal as yet another attempt to delay accountability. For decades, local communities have pursued recognition through both administrative and criminal courts, filing complaints as far back as 2006. A criminal investigation that dragged on for 16 years was ultimately dismissed, only to be reopened for further review in 2026.

For many families, the legal battles are not abstract disputes but deeply personal reckonings. Generations grew up playing in fields where the chemical was heavily sprayed, drinking from streams and wells unknowingly contaminated, and consuming produce grown in tainted soil. Many residents describe lives shaped by illness, anxiety and continual medical monitoring. While prostate cancer has received the most public and scientific attention, residents emphasize that the consequences of chlordecone exposure extend far beyond one disease category. Women, in particular, have reported long-overlooked reproductive complications that only recently began to receive serious attention in legal and medical settings.

Despite the mounting evidence, access to justice has been slow. The islands’ distance from mainland France — more than 4,000 miles away — often magnifies feelings of marginalization. Many residents view the chlordecone crisis as part of a broader legacy of unequal treatment rooted in colonial history. Homes, schools, recreational fields and plantations remain situated side by side, increasing the likelihood of repeated exposure. Heavy rains continue to wash residual chemicals deeper into the soil and waterways, extending contamination long after the pesticide’s use ended.

Scientific assessments confirm that chlordecone persists in the environment for decades, making complete remediation nearly impossible. Regular monitoring shows contamination in soils, rivers, marine environments and even locally bottled water. The chemical accumulates in the food chain, meaning residents can be exposed through crops, fish and livestock. Efforts to contain the spread have had limited success, and public health campaigns encourage residents to avoid consuming products from high-risk zones, a recommendation that is difficult to follow in a region where local food production is central to daily life.

For those living with cancer or chronic illness linked to chlordecone, the legal victories bring both relief and frustration. The acknowledgment of responsibility marks an important step, yet ongoing health challenges remain overwhelming. Many must undergo repeated medical tests, long-term cancer surveillance and invasive treatments. Some describe feeling as though their lives move in short increments between medical evaluations, overshadowed by the fear of relapse.

As the French state challenges the court’s ruling, residents and advocacy groups continue to mobilize. Civil society organizations across the Caribbean territories are calling for a comprehensive reparations plan, long-term medical support, expanded research on health impacts, environmental clean-up efforts and recognition of the social and economic damage caused by decades of contamination.

While the legal process unfolds, communities in Guadeloupe and Martinique continue to live with the daily realities of a toxic legacy. The fight for justice has become not only a demand for compensation, but also a broader struggle for recognition, dignity and protection of public health in regions historically sidelined in national policy decisions. For many, achieving justice will require more than court rulings; it will require sustained political commitment to address one of the most enduring environmental health disasters in the French Caribbean.