Mathilde Panot, a deputy from the LFI party in Val-de-Marne, sparked controversy on October 9 after posting a video on social media in which she said she would not wear the pink ribbon, a symbol associated with Octobre rose, France’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She claimed that breast cancer is "the most deadly cancer for women" and that the number of cases has "exploded over the past 30 years." Panot criticized the campaign, saying, "when you scratch the pink paint, you discover absolute cynicism." She linked the campaign to Syngenta, a major pesticide producer, and suggested that the company may have promoted breast cancer screening to expand its market. She argued that Syngenta, which once produced the pesticide DDT, also marketed breast cancer treatments and is connected to Israeli company Adama. She accused the company of being "closely tied to Israel's expansionist project" and claimed that the pink ribbon campaign might be a way to sell both the "poison that makes you sick" and the "treatment." Panot’s remarks drew strong reactions from political figures. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist defended the campaign, stating that the fight against breast cancer "deserves more than scientific approximations and political debates." She acknowledged that the number of breast cancer diagnoses has doubled since 1990, but noted that this increase could be partly due to population growth and aging. She emphasized that mortality rates have decreased by 1.5% annually between 2019 and 2023, attributing this to better research, treatments, and screening. Rist also mentioned that while some studies raise concerns about the link between pesticides and breast cancer, there is no conclusive evidence that pesticides alone are responsible for the rise in cases. Marine Le Pen, the RN presidential candidate, criticized Panot for linking the pink ribbon to Israel, suggesting that her stance "hides an increasingly open antisemitism." Prisca Thevenot, a deputy from Ensemble pour la République, called Panot "a disgrace," while Aurélien Rousseau, a deputy from Place publique and former health minister, called her remarks "an indecent staging." He argued that raising awareness about breast cancer, as the pink ribbon does, is an essential fight against the disease. The pink ribbon campaign began in the United States in 1992, when Evelyn H. Lauder, then a senior executive at Estée Lauder Companies, co-created the symbol with the magazine Self. The pink ribbon quickly became an international emblem of mobilization against breast cancer, used to promote awareness, research, and support for those affected by the disease.