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Olivier Bouygues Faces March 2026 Trial Over Organized Killing of Protected Birds

Formal charges follow a June raid by the Office français de la biodiversité, joined by gendarmerie units, on suspected systematic bird killings at his Sologne estate.

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Cinq personnes, dont le milliardaire Olivier Bouygues, ont été renvoyées devant le tribunal correctionnel en mars 2026 dans le cadre d'une enquête ouverte après des suspicions de destruction d'espèces d'oiseaux protégées dans un domaine de chasse en Sologne
Un grand cormoran dans le port du Palais à Belle-Ile-en-Mer dans le Morbihan le 23 Mars 2007
Le président de la LPO Allain Bougrain Dubourg à Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher dans le Loir-et-Cher le 28 avril 2023

Overview

  • Olivier Bouygues and three associates are under formal investigation for organizing the destruction of protected bird species, and a fifth associate was heard under libre audition.
  • Prosecutors have officially summoned Bouygues to appear before the Orléans correctional tribunal in March 2026.
  • The inquiry is co-led by the Office français de la biodiversité alongside the Orléans gendarmerie research brigade.
  • A June search of the Domaine de Fontenaille uncovered dozens of carcasses of cormorants, buzzards and egrets as well as a densely stocked wild boar enclosure suggestive of illicit breeding.
  • Major environmental NGOs plan to join the proceedings as civil parties to push for stricter enforcement of biodiversity protection laws.