Summary
Oligochaeta communities were sampled in fifteen 15–60 m deep locations of thirteen French lakes, including French part of Lake Leman. The biological status of the sediments is assessed by the aim of a composed index based upon the species richness, the log10 of absolute abundance for 0.1 m2 and the number of species belonging to a pool of 25 species collected from 1958 to 1963 in not polluted and well oxygenated areas of Lake Leman.