The history of alternative methods in the field of animal experimentation goes back to 1850 in France with the  Grammont LawThe first regulation in France concerning animals was proposed to the National Assembly by Deputy Grammont, who implicitly admitted the specificity of the animal condition. It can be seen as a preliminary to the idea of animal protection, but was only intended to protect human sensitivity against the spectacle of animal suffering. : 

1959 PublicationAccording to FRANCOPA, « The recommendations in this book initially went unnoticed before serving as the basis for many regulatory texts. Today, they allow for the implementation of a reflection on animal experimentation and alternative methods ». of « The  principles  of  Humane  Experimental  Technique » by W.M.S Russell and R.L. Burch, which refers to a principle, today known as the three Rs rule for « Replace, Reduce, Refine ».

1976 (law of July 10, 1976) underlines the fact that animals are sentient beings undergoing constraints and suffering imposed by humans. The first two R’s, replacement and reduction, are included in the law of July 10, 1976 (article L214-3 of the French Rural Code).

1978 Alternatives  to  Animal  Experiments The term «  alternativeFRANCOPA : The word « alternative » is used to describe any modification to established scientific procedures that results in the replacement of animal use, reduction in the number of animals used, or refinement of techniques that can reduce pain/distress in animals.. Therefore, Smyth’s term, « alternative methods« , covers the same areas/topics as Russell and Burch’s « Three Rs »  » was coined in 1978 by the eminent physiologist David Smyth in his book.

1986 European Directive 86/609/EEC aims to regulate the protection of animals used in experiments. 

1999 ECOPA ECOPA’s main objective is to promote the « three Rs » (replacement, reduction and refinement) in the use of animals in research, testing, education and training in Europe.
(European COnsensus-Platform for Alternatives) https://ecopa.eu/ 

2005 Creation of the EPAACreated in partnership between the EC and industry to foster communication and technology transfer between different industrial sectors. (European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing) https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/chemicals/european-partnership-alternative-approaches-animal-testing_fr.  2006 Adoption of the REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals) regulation and creation of the European Agency ECHA. REACH modernizes European legislation on chemicals and establishes a single integrated system for the registration, evaluation and authorization of chemicals in the European Union. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has the role of regulator of chemical substances. https://echa.europa.eu/fr/regulations/reach/understanding-reach  2007 Creation of FRANCOPA, French platform for the development of alternative methods in animal experimentation, which allows France to join the European platform ECOPA. https://www.ineris.fr/fr/recherche-appui/focus/methodes-alternatives-experimentation-animale-francopa> Among the proposals : – To move from research to operational tools supported by a network of resources, – To acquire the means to have the quality of innovative methods recognised (standardisation, voluntary certification, other validation processes), – To structure the national contribution to regulatory validation, – To promote the 3Rs concern in the research process on living organisms, – To make known the actors and operational tools available, – To integrate the approach into national research strategies 2015 Adoption of the Paris climate agreement. The aim here is to contribute to reducing the environmental footprint of companies and to think of technological solutions to help them achieve this.