When Louis Maréchal-Kaszowski finally manages to nod off, a wolf – always the same one – appears in his nightmares. A livestock farmer from the Gard region in the south of France, since 2017 he has spent his summer a good hour's walk above the village of Lavaldens, in southeastern France, in a steep, wooded alpine pasture. And every year, he loses a few more animals. In 2022, he lost 137 when a group of sheep fell off a cliff during a wolf attack. This summer, around 30 of 800 animals have been killed.

"Up against the wolf, you're totally powerless," said the 24-year-old. "Once you've put protective measures in place, there's nothing you can do except stay awake to keep an eye on your animals. I'm glad I'm part of the generation that learned the trade with the wolf around, [older] farmers had to learn everything all over again. Now, there's no room for error. You leave a sheep for 10 minutes and it's dead. The wolf is always 10 steps ahead."

Since its return to the Mercantour national park in southeast France, by the border with Italy, some 30 years ago, the wolf has turned the lives of farmers and shepherds upside down. Protection dogs have been deployed around herds, human presence has been reinforced and electric fences have been installed. Substantial financial resources have been dispensed, and action plans have come and gone. Positions and opinions have evolved. But France is still struggling to find a formula for peaceful coexistence, and the controversial subject continues to divide.

Preparations for the new "wolf plan" – due to be adopted by the end of the year for the period 2024-2029 – have been marked by escalation and tension. At the beginning of July, farming organizations slammed the door on discussions. The first version of the document is due to be presented on September 18, with two central questions... Will this plan succeed in maintaining a fragile balance between protection of the species and protection of livestock farming? And what role will lethal shooting play in the plan?

Echoing the French debate, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen warned on Monday, September 4 of the "real danger" posed by wolf packs, paving the way for a possible review of the animal's protected status – her own pony, Dolly, was killed by a wolf in September 2022. "The initial objective of safeguarding [the wolf] has been achieved. It is now the farmers and their businesses that are in danger," French agriculture minister Marc Fesneau was quick to add in agreement.

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