This page summarises French law for information. Only the French texts published in the Journal officiel are legally binding.
Where do the regulations stand?
- Law no. 2025-237 of 14 March 2025: in force.
- Decree no. 2025-1377 of 29 December 2025: in force since 31 December 2025.
- National control plan: still a draft. Put to public consultation from 8 to 29 April 2026, it will only be adopted once a joint order of the ministers for the environment and for agriculture is published in the Journal officiel.
Until the national plan is adopted, the department plans that follow from it cannot be adopted: the decree gives prefects six months after its adoption. The schemes in place on the ground are therefore still earlier local initiatives.
Historical regulatory framework
Health classification
The invasive and harmful nature of the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax) has been confirmed by a ministerial order since December 2012.
It is listed among category 2 health hazards for the honeybee Apis mellifera throughout France.
Rural and Maritime Fishing Code: art. L201-1, order 2011-862
Category 2 health hazards are health hazards for which it may be necessary, in the collective interest, to implement prevention, surveillance or control measures defined by the administrative authority or approved under the conditions laid down in article L. 201-12.
Find out more (in French)
Proliferating alien species with a health impact in the broad sense may be regulated by the ministries concerned.
In the case of the Asian hornet, which arrived accidentally in Aquitaine in 2004 and spread rapidly, several regulations contribute to the fight against this species.
At European level
The Asian hornet is on the list of invasive alien species (IAS) of Union concern, adopted on 13 July 2016 (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141), in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species.
At national level (before 2025)
The law of 8 August 2016 for the recovery of biodiversity added provisions to the Environment Code to act against IAS (articles L. 411-5 et seq.). Article L. 411-6 prohibits the introduction, keeping, transport, sale or purchase of any live specimen of an IAS, whose list is set by the ministerial order of 14 February 2018. This list includes the Asian hornet.
Control operations were defined by article L. 411-8 of the Environment Code: the department prefect (decree no. 2017-595) could "carry out or have carried out the capture, removal, keeping or destruction of specimens" of IAS.
Historical source: reply of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition to written question no. 07042 from Mr Hugues Saury, published in the JO Sénat (in French).
Law no. 2025-237 of 14 March 2025
Law to curb the spread of the Asian hornet and protect the beekeeping sector.
A turning point in the fight against the Asian hornet
In force since 15 March 2025, this law structures and harmonises the means of control at national level for the first time. It creates a national control plan broken down into department plans, and sets up a compensation scheme for beekeepers.
Read the law on Légifrance (in French)
National control plan (art. L. 411-9-1 of the Environment Code)
The law creates a national plan to control the yellow-legged Asian hornet, which sets out:
- The guidelines and indicators for surveillance, prevention, selective trapping and removal of nests
- A classification of departments according to predation pressure and the damage observed on apiaries
- The funding arrangements available for control actions
- An assessment of whether to classify it as a category 2 health hazard for the honeybee
- Funding for scientific research and public awareness
Department plans
The national plan will be broken down into department plans, adopted by each prefect after consulting experts. No department plan within the meaning of this law can be adopted before the national plan. Each department plan will have to:
- Organise the assessment of the level of health hazard and of damage to apiaries
- Set out the procedure for reporting Asian hornet nests
- Establish the procedure for removing nests
- Be updated no later than six months after each change to the national plan
A stronger role for mayors
The law strengthens the role of mayors in the control system. Nests can now be reported directly to the mayor, who becomes a key contact for triggering the removal operations provided for in the department plan.
Compensation for beekeepers
The law sets up a compensation scheme for beekeeping businesses that have suffered economic losses caused by the Asian hornet. This scheme is backed by the FMSE (national fund for health and environmental risk compensation) or a new mutual fund. The cost of the fight is shared between the State, local authorities and businesses.
This scheme is not operational yet: it depends on implementing texts that have not been published. The draft national plan also states that compensation for beekeepers is a separate scheme from the control plan.
Selective trapping
The draft national plan provides for a framework for selective trapping of Asian hornets, in line with scientific recommendations to protect non-target species. This plan has not been adopted yet: it will only come into force once a joint order of the ministers for the environment and for agriculture is published. To find out more, see our page on trapping Asian hornets.
Decree no. 2025-1377 of 29 December 2025
Decree setting out how the national plan and the department plans to control the yellow-legged Asian hornet are adopted.
Implementing decree
This decree, in force since 31 December 2025, sets out the practical conditions for implementing the law of 14 March 2025.
Read the decree on Légifrance (in French)
Adoption of the national plan
The national plan is adopted by joint order of the minister for the environment and the minister for agriculture, after consulting:
- The National Council for the Protection of Nature
- The National Council for Animal and Plant Health Policy (beekeeping expert committee)
Review and timetable
- The national plan is reviewed at least every six years
- Department plans must be updated within six months of each change to the national plan
- Prefects rely on health organisations (OVS) for local implementation
Monitoring the impact of the Asian hornet
See our public statistics to follow how reports and removals of Asian hornet nests evolve by department, intermunicipality and town.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do if I find an Asian hornet nest?
If you have found an Asian hornet nest, above all do not try to destroy it yourself.
Keep away from the nest, and keep people with allergies well away.
You can report the nest to your mayor, who is now a key contact in the control system.
You can also use our reporting form, and we will pass the information on to the bodies concerned.
Who pays for the removal of an Asian hornet nest?
Since the law of 14 March 2025, the cost of the fight is shared between the State, local authorities and businesses.
The practical arrangements for cost coverage vary from one department to another and are set out in the department plans.
Beekeepers who have suffered losses can receive compensation through the FMSE (national fund for health and environmental risk compensation).
Ask your town hall or the GDS/FREDON of your department.
There is an Asian hornet nest at my home: do I have to have it removed?
The Asian hornet is recognised as an invasive alien species and a category 2 health hazard. The 2025 law sets up a framework for collective action, but removal is not a legal obligation for private individuals.
It is, however, a real scourge, harmful to honeybees and to biodiversity. The department plans set out the reporting and removal procedures to follow.
We strongly encourage you to report any nest you find so that the competent bodies can step in. See our page on removing nests.
Where can I find a professional to remove the nest?
If a department control plan is in place in your department, it sets out the removal procedures. You can contact the GDS or FREDON of your department.
You can also contact your town hall, which has been a leading contact in the reporting and control system since the 2025 law.