Court of Justice 8 July 1999, C-96/98 (Commission of the European Communities v French Republic.)

Opinion of the Advocate-General Opinion of the Advocate-General 1 In this infringement action, the Commission is seeking a declaration that France has not complied with its obligations under Article 4 of the Birds Directive, (1) in particular by failing to classify a sufficiently large proportion of the total area of the Marais Poitevin (hereinafter `the Marsh') as areas of special protection