Luxembourg, 26/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice has condemned France for not having classified as special protection areas a sufficient proportion of the Plain of the Maures (in the departement of the Var), which placed it in infringement with the 1979 directive on t protection of wild birds. The Plain of the Mares harbours 23 species of wild birds protected by the directive (annex 1) and because of that is "a site of great ornithological interest", it explains.