Eradication of foot-and-mouth disease in France Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild artiodactyls (mainly cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camelids and deer). Before the 1980s, Europe, and in particular France, regularly experienced FMD epizootics with a very high number of outbreaks. A compulsory vaccination policy has been implemented at European level. Thus, every year, the French population of domestic cattle (about 20 million animals) was vaccinated. In 1991, due to the lack of detection of the circulating virus, vaccination was stopped. Since that date, France has become a country free from foot-and-mouth disease. The fight against this disease is a good example of the efficacy of vaccination to eradicate Foot-and-mouth disease virus.