Conservation des papillons de jour en France : que faut-il retenir de la Liste rouge européenne de 2025 ?

The 2025 update of the European Red List of butterflies is a major milestone after fifteen years without reassessment. Although established at European level, it is of particular importance for France, the second richest country in terms of butterfly species and home to more than half of European species. Of the 256 species present in France, 51 have seen their status change between 2010 and 2025, with an overall balance between improvements and deteriorations in extinction risk. These changes mainly reflect considerable progress in knowledge, monitoring and data ­sharing, rather than a real improvement in the conservation status of species. However, the update highlights a worrying trend: several species known as “ordinary nature” (sense of “common nature”, widespread), previously considered to be of low concern, are now classified as near threatened or vulnerable. The mountain species of the genus Erebia are also directly affected. This situation highlights the need to strengthen conservation policies by fully integrating monitoring, habitat restoration and consideration of common species, as butterflies are key bioindicators of the state of ecosystems and a strategic lever for nature restoration.