(Worldcrunch) - After students were hospitalized in the Bordeaux winegrowing region, pesticides were blamed. Parents calling for new rules near schools face a "code of silence" protecting the wine sector.

This village counts 402 residents and 250 hectares (618 acres) of vineyards. Arriving an hour's drive north from the city of Bordeaux, a visitor to Villeneuve sees vines virtually everywhere, including right up to the edge of residential neighborhoods, the town hall and a small white primary school tucked inside the green valley.

This is where 23 students, ages 8 to 10, along with their teachers, were taken to the hospital on May 5 after a fungicide was sprayed on nearby vines. Since then, the quaint village has been filled with a mix of anger and worry over the presence of pesticides. It is a sensitive topic indeed, since the wine produced from these vineyards is the core of the local economy. Both the prestige and very identity of the region are on the line.

The government head of the Gironde department issued an executive order June 23 to ban the growing use of pesticides within 50 meters of all schools at the times students exit and enter. In this area, there are an estimated 164 schools within this distance to vineyards and other agricultural fields.

The affair expands beyond this famed Bordeaux wine region, as the French National Assembly is now studying a bill to institute stricter regulations on the use of pesticides near schools, child care centers, hospitals and retirement homes.

In the wake of the Villeneuve student illnesses, the French NGO Association of Future Generations has collected more than 120,000 signatures on their petition calling for an outright ban of pesticides near any residential area or school in France.

“We are finally beginning to realize the danger of these substances on our health,” says Nadine Lauverjat, of Future Generations.

May 5, a Monday, was a very hot day, and two vineyards were treating their vines: the first one, Château Escalette, which is considered organic, used sulfur and copper; the other one, Château Castel La Rose, a conventional vineyard, used Eperon and Pepper, two products that prevent mildew.