Quite right too, snakes have feelings as well. Does arnica sooth a bruised serpent, I muse hissingly 
So you are resigned to weeds in the path. We bought our house on coast in Cote dâArmor a year ago and seems we must resign ourselves to spending a full day about every two months weed pullingâŠis it illegal ie fineable to use uk Round up (the French reformulation is useless for permanent weed elimination) or just that it isnt allowed to be sold to the general public? I understand farmers and professionals can still buy and use it.
Yes, farmers can continue to use it if they have satisfied basic checks. It is forbidden for the general public and to use it is a crime.
âLe non-respect des conditions dâutilisation des produits phytosanitaires prĂ©vues par la loi est une infraction pĂ©nale qui sera [passible de 6 mois dâemprisonnement et de 150 000⏠dâamende
Il sâagit ici de la sanction maximale encourue. Elle sera modulĂ©e par le juge en fonction des circonstances.â
It is perfectly possible to keep paths clear without chemicals.
If you are in residence 365/365 yes.
If notâŠ
We have many holiday homes in our commune.
some pay a gardener to do a cut, now and then⊠maybe a quick prune or whatever.
some ask a local friend to keep an eye and do a general tidyâŠ
some do nothing and work their socks off when they get hereâŠ
Everyone is different in what they can afford and in what they want to doâŠ
it does help when you have managed to cultivate local support/friends⊠and a good meal when you can all get together is considered sufficient âpaymentâ⊠
Since seeing this topic I have noticed that Leclerc do sell products for that purpose, that I suppose must be legal.
But I personally find the distinctive yellow colour of poisoned weeds less attractive than when they are alive.
Indeed but they will have Pelargonic acid as their active ingredient (or, possibly, Iron sulphate if they are sold specifically as a moss killer).
There is simply nothing else on the market - so the only deciding factor is how much of the active ingredient you get from your money - the 5l concentrate from Leroy Merlin seems best value (at just shy of 60âŹ). Dilute at 1:7.5 with water and apply the resulting solution at 1l per 10m2
It works quickly to kill foliage - within hours - but has no effect on seeds, nor is it taken up into the root system so deep rooted plants will re-grow and any seeds lurking in the treated area will re-germinate.
For those who âdonât like chemicalsâ it is derived from plants of the genus Pelargonium.
But âPathclearâ it is not 
Our attitude to weeds is about to be radically altered. The new president of the Royal Horticultural Society is one Keith Weed. His motherâs maiden name was Hedges - he was destined for this role.
No more will articles on âhow to eradicate weedsâ be permitted in the UK press. The RHS PR department is going to be kept very busy! 
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