-
La Voie Bleue: European Cycle Route of the Year is in France
700km bike path linking Luxembourg and Lyon has been crowned winner of the 2026 title
-
Before and after: Garonne river floods in south-west France
Satellite images show extent of flooding from back-to-back storms in February
-
Home insurance increases expected in France after floods
Compensation costs for the recent storms and flooding across the west and south-west is estimated to be in the billions of euros
Prefects can order hornet destruction
New powers for prefects to order the destruction of asian hornet nests even on private property should ease the lives of beekeepers and people who find a nest in their garden.
Hornets eat bees and bee deaths have soared from 5% to 30%, vastly reducing honey production, but there has been no legal framework allowing nest destruction.
Beekepers could not touch hornet nests on private land that were killing their bees while landowners were dependent on help from beekeepers or costly pest control companies.
Now, the Environment Ministry is preparing an order to give prefects the powers and the means to destroy nests. It still has to be approved but will allow landowners and beekeepers to contact the prefecture for action. Some councils, such as Alpes-Maritimes, had taken it upon themselves to destroy nests while others left it to the beekeepers and landowners.
Hornets build nests in spring but while this is the best time to destroy them, the rugby ball-shaped nests are not easily seen in the foliage. They are easier to spot in winter, but are empty.
Beekeepers have taken to calling in hunters to blast nests but traps have become increasingly effective in catching the queens.
