A bacterial infection ravaging olive trees in the far south of Italy has spread to Corsica, where emergency measures are being implemented.
Xylella fastidiosa, spread by insects, was found at Propriano in southern Corsica. The bacterium can also attack citrus trees and vineyards.
France has destroyed plants around the infected bush found in Propriano.
Xylella is one of the biggest disease threats to plants worldwide, the European Commission says.
There is no effective treatment for infected plants and new Commission regulations say, external the only solution is to destroy them and establish Xylella-free buffer zones around them.
Corsica – a Mediterranean island near Italy – has a small olive oil industry, with about 500 employees and more than 2,000ha (4,940 acres) of trees.
But the bacterium is a threat to about 300 plant species. It was first detected on the island last week.
On Wednesday France’s Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll visited Propriano and pledged “a total commitment” to isolating the outbreak.
French authorities suspect that the bacterium arrived via a ferry from the nearby Italian island of Sardinia.
French health inspectors are checking ferry passengers arriving at the small Corsican port of Bonifacio, in an effort to prevent any further Xylella contamination.