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This essay is a contribution to this issue's forum on French Jewish studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the early poetic opus of Franco-Slovenian author Vladimir Kaucic -- Jean Vodaine. The period in question is from 1945 when he published his first book of poetry to 1955, when he started to work for Editions Caractères in Paris. This work enabled him to meet many famous contemporary artists (such as Tzara and Jakovski), and his views on art would evolve after this period. Vodaine was born in 1921 near the town of Tolmin. In his childhood his family moved to Lorraine, France, where he acquired primary education and started to make a living as labourer. Meanwhile, he was collaborating with local worker's cultural associations and started to write poetry, paint, and create graphics and typographies. The article presents the analysis of his first books of poetry and poems that were published in literary magazines of that time. The analysis shows that Vodaine's preferred themes of writing in that period were nature, love, Lorraine, the problems of the working class, and of living in the modern world. The quality of Vodaine's early poetry is found in his linguistic eloquence and inventive thematic combinations, such as workplace motifs and nature, which are often expressed with some irony. Although Vodaine's lexicon is beautiful, his early poetry is fairly repetitive and schematic, and we may notice the influence of Prévert and Verlaine. The last book of poetry analysed in this paper represents a turn in the artist's literary creation as he, for the first time, manifests his original poetic expression, which will evolve in the poetry of his mature artistic period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Jurassic coral assemblages and their ecological reef zonation (as a function of water depth) were studied in 490 m deep shafts dug for the underground laboratory of the French National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA). Based on a quantitative approach, several ecozones are distinguished. Identified ecozones represent evolution from the initiation of the reef during a shallowing of depositional environments to the end of the platform progradation in sheltered settings. Ecozones are defined by the most abundant genera Dimorpharaea, Microsolena, Rhabdophyllia, Comoseris, and Stylina. The slight differences between these coral associations when compared to regional outcrops can be explained by the more distal palaeogeographical location of the studied section, close to the platform margin. This study strengthens the zonation model proposed for coeval Oxfordian outcrops in the Jura Mountains with the exception that the Rhabdophyllia ecozone replaces the Dendraraea ecozone. Other comparisons are proposed and take into account the progress in coral taxonomy in the past 15 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises significant events in the life of Francis Edward Joseph Strickland from his birth in 1691 at the exiled Stuart Court in Saint-Germain-en-Leye, near Paris, to his death in Carlisle during the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. Emphasis is placed on his various roles in the Stuart court and his involvement in the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite rebellions, including his malign influence on Bonnie Prince Charlie and his deteriorating relationship with his godfather James Francis Stuart, the Old Pretender. His life is evaluated in the context of his role and status within the wider exiled Jacobite circle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific societies and academies, which represented the path to knowledge and the way of constructing theoretical sciences, constituted a distinctive feature of the intellectual life in mid-eighteenth-century Europe. These societies worked towards knowledge--in its broad sense--within the country and towards the cooperation of scholars to exchange scientific achievements and introduce technical innovations into practice. T he Royal Society in Nancy (Société Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres), now called the Stanisław Academy, established in 1750, started research in various topics in the field of agriculture. They focused on methods of improving soil efficiency and the use of modernised farming machines in Lorraine and Bar. King Stanisław Leszczyński, founder of the institution, took great care in academic research activities, encouraging researchers to hold public speeches, advising and searching for novelties in a field, such as, for example, a new species of grass from England. He considered agriculture the driving force in the development of societies and believed that an increase in farming production would benefit common wealth. He used many innovations in his properties to underline the importance of work in agriculture and popularise various kinds of novelties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-eight tin-glazed ceramic fragments (faiences) from Lorraine, found in excavations or pertaining to objects in collections, were subjected to X-ray fluorescence analysis to determine the bulk, major, minor and trace element compositions. Sixteen superficially clay layers from the surroundings of Lunéville and Saint-Clément were also analysed. The faiences are, with four exceptions, MgO rich. The combination of stylistic and chemical arguments allowed the recognition of 28 objects that were attributable to the important faience manufactory of Jacques II Chambrette in Lunéville. This reference group was used to test the provenance of high- Mg faiences from private collections. The latter are not from the manufactory of Le Bois d'Épense/Les Islettes as commonly assumed, but most probably belong to Lunéville and Saint-Clément. According to archival sources, the potters mixed three clays for the pastes. Some prospected clays are MgO rich due to the presence of dolomite and other Mg-bearing minerals, but not as high as the faiences, a fact that can be explained by the sampling of de-carbonatized layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the War of the Spanish Succession, the duke of Lorraine trod a difficult path in his attempts to maintain the independence of his state. While Louis XIV agreed in principle to respect his neutrality, the French nevertheless imposed significant restrictions on the duke’s sovereignty. The Grand Alliance, meanwhile, viewed Leopold’s neutrality with suspicion and refused to assist him unless he publicly declared for the coalition. The dissonance in views regarding the status of Lorraine reflected a long-term clash of sovereignties in the region, between France, Lorraine and the Holy Roman Empire. It also reflected the evolving status of neutrality in international relations, as well as attendant tensions within the European dynastic system: though the duke’s policy of neutrality may have saved Lorraine from potential devastation in the war, it severely impeded his dynasty’s ambitions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present a novel methodology for integration of multiple InSAR data sets for computation of two dimensional time series of ground deformation. The proposed approach allows combination of SAR data acquired with different acquisition parameters, temporal and spatial sampling and resolution, wavelength and polarization. Produced time series have combined coverage, improved temporal resolution and lower noise level. We apply this methodology for mapping coal mining related ground subsidence and uplift in the Greater Region of Luxembourg along the French–German border. For this we processed 167 Synthetic Aperture Radar ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT images acquired between 1995 and 2009 from one ascending (track 29) and one descending (track 337) tracks and created over five hundred interferograms that were used for time series analysis. Derived vertical and east–west linear deformation rates show with remarkable precision a region of localized ground deformation located above and caused by mining and post-mining activities. Time series of ground deformation display temporal variability: reversal from subsidence to uplift and acceleration of subsidence in the vertical component, and horizontal motion toward the center of the subsidence on the east–west component. InSAR results are validated by leveling measurements collected by the French Geological Survey (BRGM) during 2006–2008. We determined that deformation rate changes are mainly caused by water level variations in the mines. Due to higher temporal and spatial resolution the proposed space-borne method detected a larger number of subsidence and uplift areas in comparison to leveling measurements restricted to annual monitoring of benchmark points along roads. We also identified one deformation region that is not precisely located above the mining sites. Comparison of InSAR measurements with the water levels measured in the mining pits suggest that part of the water that filled the galleries after termination of the dewatering systems may come from this region. Providing that enough SAR data is available, this method opens new opportunities for detecting and locating man-made and natural ground deformation signals with high temporal resolution and precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the nineteenth century, Europeans became fascinated with the idea of locating and mapping the borders between their languages. The barrier of language offered a new way of seeing, dividing and organizing European land according to cultural differences. The cartographic techniques that Europeans invented to map their language borders involved a combination of linguistic surveys, on-site observations and collaboration with locals. Once printed, language maps found a broad public audience and helped to structure debates over cultural identity in European borderlands. This article explores the nationalist and regionalist motivations behind linguistic map making along the French-German border, one of the most disputed in modern European history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of the agricultural use, during Roman or Medieval times, of forested areas formerly considered to be ancient, as well as legacies of this former land use on plant biodiversity and soil properties, have encouraged the search for archives of former land use in forests. In central Lorraine (northeastern France), thousands of small closed depressions (CD) on marlstone have been inventoried in forests over the past 150 years, and we hypothesised that these CDs could be used to reconstruct patterns of land use. Closed depressions near the Seille and Sarre valleys were selected and cored for pollen and sediment analyses. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to analyse variations of pollen assemblages during the last two millennia. The history of vegetation changes depicts five main phases. During the Roman period, the region appears to have been primarily covered by grasslands, with some croplands but few forests. All areas were reforested by the end of the Roman period. During the early Medieval period, croplands with grasslands developed in the region, while the late Medieval was characterised by cereal cropping, with especially intense use at sites near the Seille valley, and a lesser extension of grasslands. The present forest cover developed over the past 500 years because of the development of the salt industry in the Seille valley, which required firewood, and the general decrease of agricultural pressure over the past 150 years. Previous investigations had provided evidence of large-scale Roman field systems in the forests covering the limestone plateau and the Vosges foothills on sandstone, areas west and east of the research focus, respectively. These convergent findings suggest that that forests considered to be ‘ancient’ on the basis of historical documents may have been used for pasture or agriculture over extensive periods during the last 2000 years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A virulent witch panic driven by many diabolically possessed parishioners of Mattaincourt in Lorraine caused about fifty deaths for witchcraft between 1627 and 1631. Sixty years before Salem, this episode constitutes the largest such tragedy yet found in Catholic Europe, where episodes of collective demonic possession were usually confined within female convents. Mattaincourt's parish curé, St. Pierre Fourier, was then supervising the approval for two reformed religious orders at Rome and was unable to control events in Mattaincourt; a wealthy benefactor was among those burned. Fourier resigned his benefice when the outbreak subsided. This episode was apparently unknown to Catholic authorities during the modern procedures for Fourier's beatification and canonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A five-year macroinvertebrate study was conducted on a 55 km river (le Rupt-de-Mad, Lorraine region, north-eastern France), a standard for the region. A list of 300 species was drawn up, and remarkable species were listed for some better known orders: Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Odonata. Some faunistic results are emphasised: about 42% of the identified species were more or less ubiquitous, 26% were meso- to polysaprobic species of potamon, present only in the main course of the river, while 31% were rather stenoecious species restricted to certain tributaries. Fifty-one remarkable species were listed, taking into account their regional status, according to IUCN categories: more than three quarters were hosted in the small tributaries, and 55% found exclusively in these latter (versus 23.5% only present in the main course of the river). Calcareous lotic tributaries were hosting particularly original communities with many remarkable species. Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera were pertinent groups to assess the global faunistic interest of lotic habitats, but lentic habitats are probably better evaluated using other groups, e.g. Odonata and Coleoptera; the latter unfortunately poorly known from an ecological point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Objective: The aim of the survey was to describe current practice in management of hypotension during spinal anaesthesia for elective caesarean section in Lorraine. Study design: Cross-sectional study by a mail survey. Methods: A 20-item postal questionnaire was sent to all anaesthetists working in public or private hospital with a maternity unit in Lorraine. Results: The response rate was 65%. Fifty-one percent of the respondents did not have a written procedure for the management of spinal-induced hypotension. Fluid preloading with or without vasopressor was the most common practice. Colloids were used by 20% of the respondents. For prevention of hypotension, 37% used ephedrine, 28% used phenylephrine mostly in association with ephedrine and 9% based their choice on heart rate. Twenty-six percent did not administer any vasopressor to prevent hypotension. First choice vasopressor for treatment of hypotension was ephedrine. Anaesthetists in academic practice were more likely to use coloading and phenylephrine administration, but none of them used colloids for pre- or coloading. Conclusion: Management of hypotension during spinal anaesthesia for elective caesarean section was significantly influenced by the type of practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article offers a comparative analysis of the origins and development of autonomism in interwar Alsace and the Moselle. Upon the liberation of the provinces in November 1918, the local populations of Alsace and the Moselle enthusiastically welcomed French troops. For President Raymond Poincare´ this enthusiasm constituted a clear ‘plebiscite’. But, in light of perceived heavy-handedness on the part of the new French rulers, this enthusiasm proved short-lived and rapidly gave way to a widespread malaise. In response to local fears for the preservation of their distinctive social, linguistic and religious traditions, Autonomist organisations emerged to oppose the loss of what they perceived to be the soul and character of Alsace and the Moselle. They rapidly became a pervasive force in local politics, cutting across ideological and class barriers and dividing parties. For the French government, autonomism represented a serious threat to national unity. For local autonomists, however, it represented an attempt to preserve local socio-economic structures and linguistic and cultural practices. The discussion here seeks to reposition autonomism within the context of local politics and to compare the distinct experiences of Alsace and the Moselle in the decade after their return to French rule. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Over 10,000 closed depressions (CDs) are found in the silty plains of Northeastern France. These small wetlands support the growth of rare plant species. Although their origins, which could be anthropogenic or geologic due to salt/gypsum lens dissolution, have been debated for 150years, they have not yet been the focus of an integrated study. In 39 geological borings along a 15-km² strip, no salt/gypsum lenses and more than 260 CDs were recorded using LiDAR. All of the investigated CDs have a bathtub form with a flat bottom. Complete excavations clearly showed a cut contact between the sediment and the horizontal marl substratum at the bottom, and a cut at the edges of the upper marl layers. Radiocarbon dating of sediment bottoms showed that sedimentation began between the second Iron Age and the Roman period. The frequencies of pollen and Sporormiella-type depict an open landscape with grassland, pasture and cropland. These convergent findings challenge the hypothesis that CDs formed naturally and suggest that they area instead anthropogenic. Because no soil deposits were found around the CDs, digging may have been intended to marl the surrounding acidic silty soils. The high density and small size of CDs will allow the detailed reconstruction of landscape and biodiversity modifications in the region for the two last millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alsace-Lorraine passed from French administration to German control for half a century after 1871, and again for the duration of World War II. Widespread material damage was inflicted in this contested territory in both world wars. The first wave of destruction in 1940 was inflicted by German forces, the second was caused by Allied bombers in 1944, and the final wave surrounded bitter fighting between German occupiers and American liberators in 1944-1945. Using archival sources and published accounts, this article examines the complex impact of destruction, very different in chronology from the more familiar story in Lower Normandy; the desperate challenge of coping with a wide range of emergencies that faced the reinstated French regime in the early years of peace; and the prolonged process of definitive reconstruction, which combined respect for traditional design with modern building techniques in some locations, such as the viticultural villages near Colmar, whilst adopting entirely modern approaches in other parts of Alsace-Lorraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The flooding of the Lorraine coal mines (France), representing a huge reservoir of about 154×106 m3, began in June 2006. After attaining thermal equilibrium with the surrounding rocks, the water temperature in the deepest parts is expected to reach 55°C, giving the opportunity for the extraction of low-enthalpy geothermal waters that may be suitable for district heating purposes. We present some numerical modelling results of the thermally driven convective flow in an open vertical shaft and in the entire mine reservoir. A dual permeability/porosity approach was used in the reservoir model, which includes open galleries and vertical shafts, coal panels backfilled with sand, and intact rock masses. Two scenarios of heat extraction with different flow regimes were investigated. A sensitivity analysis shows that the temperature decline in the production zone is highly dependent on the permeability of the surrounding porous rocks. Larger permeabilities result in higher water temperatures at the production shaft due to greater inflows of warm water from those rock masses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Set within a Douglasian framework, this paper explores the genesis and the social significance of the concept of environmental ‘pollution’ in late nineteenth-century France by drawing on printed scientific and medical sources and analysing archival material from administrations and industrial companies. ‘Pollution’ brought together various strands of water research (especially water analysis, bacteriology and hydrology) but also served as the foundation of a discourse on industrial responsibility. It was a response to the new material circulations created by industrial discharges in river. Paradoxically, it condoned industrial discharges in watercourses, which the hygienist community deemed less dangerous than domestic wastewaters. The co-production of pollution science and nineteenth-century industrial order explains why industrial water pollution was allowed to go unabated. The incapacity of the legal framework of the time to accommodate polluting discharges as legal objects and find legitimate places for them, the power politics at work around pollution and scientific controversies themselves made discharges very difficult to challenge in court. Accordingly, water pollution was regulated informally and industrialists were able to claim rivers as legitimate places for industrial matter against challenges brought up by other social actors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: To study the assessment of hygiene practices in anaesthesia in Lorraine between 1998 and 2007, after recommendations from the French Society of Anaesthesia and Reanimation (SFAR) in December 1997, and different local actions. Study design: Two surveys performed at a nine-year interval in Lorraine hospitals. Population and method: Questionnaires about risk infection management and hygiene practices were sent by post to all anaesthetists, nurse anaesthetists and recovery room nurses in 1998 (n =279) and in 2007 (n =259). Results: Between the two surveys multidrug-resistant bacteria signalling, movements of the staff in operating rooms, septic isolation protocol and management of single-use disposable anaesthesia material have been improved (p <0.05). Central venous catheters are less performed in recovery rooms and rings wearing decreased by 16% (p <0.05). Wearing of nonsterile gloves for peripheral venous catheter and intubation is not generalized (p <0.05). About half of the hospitals have cleanup procedures of anaesthesia furniture. Washing of hands by anaesthesia staff is not sometimes respected but it''s more frequent for medicine preparation and between two operations. A good skin disinfection (cleaning – rinsing – drying – antiseptic) is more recurrent in 2007 (61.4%) than in 1998 (41.9%) for arterial catheter. Wearing of glasses for intubation is each times rare, about 15%. Conclusion: Hygiene practices in anaesthesia in Lorraine have been improved between the two surveys by recommendations from the Sfar and the work of the Antenne Régional de Lorraine (audits, manuals, formations). Promising progress has been made but some points must still be worked on. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new fauna of crustacean decapods has been discovered on the occasion of the digging of two large wells in Kimmeridgian marls and limestones at Bure (Lorraine, France). Among the stratigraphically well repaired identified fossils Thalassinoidea are abundant with the species Etallonia isochela (Woodward, 1876). Other fossils are represented by a Paguridae (Palaeopagurus sp.) and two Erymidae: Eryma cf. babeaui (Etallon, 1861) and E. ventrosa (Von Meyer, 1835) this last one has provided fragments of carapace and fragments of chelipeds. Propodes of E. isochela sometime display remains of coloration patterns that indicate a low oxygen level of depositional and diagenetic environments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: To evaluate the results of Off Site preanaesthetic consult in Lorraine and to draw up a method for these pre-operative visits. Study design: Two surveys of the Lorraine-regional practice (from both the anaesthetists and surgeons from Lorraine) and one survey of patient satisfaction. Patients and method: Questionnaires were sent by mail to all anaesthetists (n =270) and surgeons (n =339) in the Lorraine region. In the immediate postoperative period, specific questionnaires were sent by mail to selected patient groups (n =73 in each group), one group having and the other (control) not having Off Site preanaesthetic consult. Results: Anaesthetists'' survey: 48.4% of interviewed anaesthetists belonged to the pre-anaesthetic consult network. 81.2% of these anaesthetists performed Off Site pre-anaesthetic consult. The main recognized advantages were patient comfort (89.6%) and cost effectiveness (57.3%). 26.1% of anaesthetists who did not participate to the network were strongly opposed to this practice, while 60.9% were prepared to enter the network. Surgeons'' survey: 15.6% of surgeons were not satisfied that anaesthetists in their institutions practiced the Off Site pre-anaesthetic consult. Patients'' survey: no difference in satisfaction towards the quality of information delivered during the consultation (anaesthetic technique, analgesia and evaluation of the perioperative risk) nor in terms of perioperative anxiety. The average transportation distance spared by Off Site preanaesthetic Consult was 98 miles. Conclusion: Off Site preanaesthetic consult may have real benefits in terms of, patient satisfaction, comfort and cost-effectiveness. In the Lorraine region, a majority of anaesthetists has experience with this practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In Lorraine, flooding of the iron mines leads to a degradation of groundwater quality. Based on a global approach, a numerical simulator has been built that can reproduce and predict the evolution of water quality at the overflow point of the mining basin. In order to specify the spatial distribution of these pollutant concentrations, a new model has been developed. The basin is represented as a network of homogeneous reservoirs. Although encouraging, the results show the need to specify the spatial organisation of water flow in order to reproduce the pollutant concentrations in the different monitored wells. To cite this article: P. Collon et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study deals with the reconstruction of intraplate paleostresses. Calcite twinning inversion provides paleostress directions and differential values, even in poorly outcropping areas. However, existing methods are not well adapted to multi-phase deformation cases, and the calculation of stress values provides unreliable estimates.Modifications were brought to a calcite twinning inverse method and to the processing of results. In a new twin data separation process, the whole set of data is used to calculate each tensor. The variability of yield stress value for twinning with strain hardening is taken into consideration. A first order yield stress-calcite grain size dependence function has been established with a sample showing various grain sizes.This modified method of calcite twinning inversion was applied in the eastern Paris Basin (Lorraine, France). In this platform area, measured fractures are preferentially trending NE–SW and NW–SE at all scales. The Meso-Cenozoic paleostress succession reconstructed with fault slips is complex. Jurassic sedimentation occurred during the Tethys rifting. A mainly strike–slip phase with σ1 successively striking NNW and NNE is attributed to the Tertiary Pyrenean orogenesis, and is followed by WNW extension in the Oligocene. After local ENE compression, WNW compression was probably due to the Alpine Late Miocene collision. The calcite twinning inversion has confirmed these tectonic events and their succession order, and the directions of stress axes were specified. Using grain size- and strain rate-sensitive yield stress values, the differential stresses can be estimated with an uncertainty of few MPa. They range between 20 and 30 MPa, depending on the tectonic event. The Oligocene paleodepths of the sampled calcite, estimated using differential stress values, are structurally sensible.Thus, the original calcite twinning inverse method has been improved. Complex paleostress successions such as in platform areas may be deciphered by combination with fault slip inversion. Even if additional improvement is possible, this calcite twinning inverse method opens new ways to determine stress distributions in tectonic plates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The flooding of the abandoned iron mines of Lorraine leads to a degradation of the groundwater quality. Laboratory experiments allowed us to build a kinetic chemical model based on simple chemical mechanisms. During mining operations, pyrite oxidation and carbonate dissolution lead to the precipitation of gypsum. The local decrease of pH favours local dissolutions of minerals and releases ions that are fixed on cationic exchange sites. During the flooding of the mine workings, the dissolution of the newly precipitated gypsum, the precipitation of carbonates and cationic exchange reactions are responsible for the increase of the concentrations of sulphate, magnesium, sodium, potassium and strontium in water. Thereafter, these concentrations would decrease with the natural leaching of the mining reservoir. To cite this article: P. Collon et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Saarland and Lorraine are peripherial regions at the German-French border with similar economic problems. Both regions are trying to compensate for job losses in the coal, iron and steel industry by building up new industrial networks and by establishing an 'up-grading' strategy following the innovative models of high-tech regions. In the following article I will discuss the risks and opportunities of these regional economic policies, in particular the chances of gaining possible inter-regional advantages and synergies through cross-border networking activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of sedimentary facies in the quarry of Dompcevrin (Middle Oxfordian) located northwestward of St-Mihiel (Meuse department) provides evidences of high-energy depositional conditions. The occurrence of beaches associated with hurricane coral breccias containing megaclasts is characteristic of platform edge environments. The open sea was located northeastward, in the direction of Germany, as it is indicated by the direction of progradation of beaches. It is concluded that the Oxfordian carbonate platform of Lorraine was opened to the northeast toward the Germanic Sea during the Middle Oxfordian. To cite this article: C. Carpentier et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Designation of grassland sites in the Natura 2000 Network, in application of the Habitats and Birds Directives requires the definition of appropriate management practices, in order to ensure their conservation in a favorable status. Such grasslands present very diverse ecological and agricultural features, even at a local level, as shown by the example from the Lorraine region (France). In most cases, the fertilizer input has to stay very low. The type (cutting or grazing regime or mixed) and intensity level of management will have a determining role on the evolution of these habitats and on their biodiversity. In some cases, management can lead to conflicting effects on different species or communities protected by these Directives. It is then necessary to designate priority target species or communities. In France, surveys are being carried out by experts to determine, for each habitat type and each species of the Habitats and Birds Directives, the management practices required to ensure their conservation in a favorable status. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]