Olivier Bouygues sentenced to suspended prison for illegal hunting and wildlife crimes

A criminal court in Orléans convicted Olivier Bouygues, a 75-year-old billionaire and son of the founder of the Bouygues group, of illegal hunting and illegal breeding of wild boar. He received a two-year prison term with suspension and a three-year revocation of his hunting licence, pending execution. Five co-defendants, including his estate’s manager and gamekeepers, were sentenced to suspended terms ranging from six months to two years and fined modest amounts.

Following an anonymous report, the Office français de la biodiversité and the gendarmerie conducted a raid on his 750-hectare Sologne hunting estate, finding dozens of illegal jaw traps, a backhoe used to bury carcasses, prohibited poisons, and thermal-vision hunting gear. The illegal breeding program violated the “one animal per hectare” rule. The verdict reflects part of the prosecutor’s demands, though Bouygues’ counsel had sought dismissal.