This article shows the history of the Interdepartmental Commission on Rabies Control from 1972 to 2005. Created four years after the appearance of fox rabies in France, the performance of the Commission can be divided into two periods corresponding to different missions: the development of a national plan for fox rabies control (1972-1976) and the circulation of information for fox rabies control. During the second period, the Commission funded a large-scale anti-rabies oral vaccination programme which eradicated the disease in foxes.