France launches national plan to coordinate fight against Asian hornet
The government unveiled a national strategy, approved by Parliament in 2025, to better organise control of the Asian hornet across France.
On Wednesday, French officials announced the rollout of a national Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) control plan, which Parliament passed in 2025. The official order, appearing in the Journal officiel, classifies each department into one of four exposure levels and establishes a national coordination unit. Prefects are required to produce departmental strategies within six months, working with municipalities, agricultural sectors and environmental NGOs.
The ministries of Ecological Transition and Agriculture state the goal is to organise a consistent, proportionate fight and to deepen scientific understanding of the hornet’s threat to honeybees, fruit production and public safety. Because total eradication is no longer seen as feasible, the plan concentrates on limiting damage through nest destruction, spring trapping of founding queens and measures to reduce stress on apiaries. A separate 2025 law also provides compensation for beekeepers suffering economic losses, but this operates outside the new plan.
Why it matters
The hornet endangers pollinators, crops and public safety, so coordinated action is essential to protect agriculture and ecosystems.
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