The French government on Friday slapped an immediate ban a pesticide made by Swiss giant Syngenta used in rapeseed cultivation that has been found to shorten bees' lifespan.

The agriculture ministry had signalled at the beginning of the month that it planned to ban Cruiser and Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll said Syngenta failed to provide satisfactory information to call into doubt findings on the pesticide.

France's National Food, Environment and Work Safety Agency (ANSES) issued a damning report on the pesticide after the journal Science published a French study demonstrating the harmful effects on bees of broad-spectrum insecticide thiamethoxam, found in Cruiser.

Le Foll said the ban "takes effect immediately," and affected only Cruiser OSR which is used on rapeseed seeds when the plant is harvested in August.