A nature protection act has been enacted in France on July 10, 1976. The rationals behind protecting endangered species (based on anthropology, biocentric, or ecocentric considerations) are first discussed. Then, one indicates the reasons for why the enforcement of this law is both sociologically infeasible, and ecologically inefficient. Ironically, if it had any positive effects on nature protection, the reasons lie mostly in unintentional consequences of the regulations it imposes. First, naturalists, whose former interest in their personal collections led to a predatory behavior, were induced to self restraint. Then, beyond the protection of endangered species, it was mainly used to protect the corresponding ecological niches, which is its main benefit.
