No national calendar: opening and closing dates set by prefectoral order
The Code de l'environnement and OFB set the general framework; dates are set at departmental level each year.
Title II 'Chasse' of the Environmental Code, available on Légifrance, and the national framework led by the Office français de la biodiversité (OFB) set the general principles of hunting in France, without themselves setting a single national calendar for opening and closing. These dates are set every year at departmental level, by prefectoral order, in coordination with the departmental hunters' federation (FDC) and according to the departmental game management scheme (SDGC) specific to each department. Periods can therefore differ from one department to another, and within the same department according to the species, sex or age of the game concerned. A hunter preparing an outing in a given department must therefore check the prefectoral order in force for that department and season, rather than relying on a generic calendar or that of another department, as these orders are republished every year.