Paris (AFP)

A case of avian flu was detected in a farmyard in the Ardennes, immediately raising the level of risk in France to "moderate" and the confinement from Friday of poultry in sensitive areas.

Barely a week after the official announcement of the end of the influenza which had led to the slaughter of more than 3.5 million poultry last winter, a new case detected not far from the Belgian border rings the bell. general alert among French breeders.

"This case does not call into question the status recovered by France on September 2 as a + country free from influenza +", it was pointed out at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Confirmed Thursday, it was detected in an individual whose poultry are not marketed.

All of these animals were euthanized.

Since the beginning of September, two cases of H5N8 have been declared in Belgium, in an ornamental bird trader and in a private individual.

Luxembourg also confirmed on Wednesday a case in an individual, directly related to sales made by the Belgian trader, according to a press release from the Belgian agency for the safety of the food chain.

The danger is there.

And the increase in the level of risk in France, from "negligible" to "moderate", on "the whole of the metropolitan territory", comes into force "immediately", according to the decree published on Friday in the Official Journal.

Preventive measures have been made compulsory in municipalities located in so-called special risk areas (ZRP), that is to say sheltering wetlands frequented by migratory birds - essentially the migration corridors of birds.

- "No panic" -

Among these measures, the sheltering of poultry on farms (and no longer in the open air), the ban on the gathering of birds (for competitions), or compulsory vaccination in zoos for birds that cannot be confined or protected under netting.

These measures are intended to contain any further outbreaks after a disastrous year for duck farmers.

Between November and May, France had identified nearly 500 outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry farms, mainly in the South-West known for its production of foie gras.

"No panic. It's a measure of extreme caution and precaution. It's early, but it allows better preparation," said AFP Eric Dumas, president of Cifog, the inter-professional organization of Foie gras palmipeds.

"Our DNA is the outdoors," he recalls, while agreeing that shelter is necessary.

"Nobody wants to relive what we went through this year."

Breeder in the Landes, a department which has concentrated with the Gers and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques 95% of outbreaks of highly pathogenic influenza this winter, Eric Dumas is one of the producers who must confine now.

- "Foie gras at Christmas" -

"We know that we will no longer have an exemption in small farms to leave the ducks outside," said Florian Boucherie, chairman of the Cifog short circuits commission, which breeds, feeds and processes its geese and ducks. on his exploitation of Périgord noir.

"We tell ourselves that if we all play the game, the future will be greener," he added.

The risk is enormous for France, by far the world number one, with annual sales estimated at 2 billion euros, for a production of around 30 million tonnes of duck foie gras.

This figure has fallen to 21 million tonnes this year.

The ministry specified that all the measures taken on Friday would be "accompanied by daily clinical surveillance in all farms (commercial and non-commercial)".

If a new epizootic were to develop, resulting in the loss of free status, this would imply the automatic closure of certain markets, such as China and South Korea.

In the meantime, Eric Dumas wants to be reassuring: "We want to show that we are bouncing back, we will be present" on the shelves at the end of the year, "there will be foie gras at Christmas".

© 2021 AFP