Overview
- A prefectural order published on Nov. 17 mandates cutting all conifers within 500 meters of the Seignosse focus—about 61 hectares—by Dec. 31, with infected wood shredded on site or sent to approved treatment facilities.
- A 20 km buffer of roughly 36,000 hectares across dozens of communes enters a four-year quarantine, banning resinous logging from April 1 to Oct. 30 and allowing winter operations only with prior authorization.
- Movement controls now apply: plants can enter the restricted area, only transformed or thermally treated wood may leave, and highway transit through the zone is permitted without unloading.
- After an initial block, authorities confirmed Christmas-tree circulation is allowed around the outbreak, and post-holiday trees will be collected through dedicated municipal and waste-center disposal channels.
- Sampling and tracing are ongoing, with 495 trees already tested and INRAE preparing DNA analyses to establish the origin, while the government considers how to cover the costs of mandatory felling.