Objective: At the initiative of the European Commission, TNO Quality of Life in the Netherlands, CIOP in Poland, and PREVENT in Belgium formed a consortium and, in January 2008, undertook a study on the potential impact in Member States of various options that could be adopted as part of a European policy for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Method: Initially, French experts participated, alongside their European counterparts, in an individual questionnaire survey assessing the impact at various levels (national, occupational sectors, companies) of six options proposed by the consortium. In a second phase, they were invited to a meeting in September 2008 to collectively comment on the results of the survey conducted at the European level, taking into account the specific situation in France. During this meeting, they again individually assessed the potential impact of each option. Results: As at the European level, Option 6 (implementation of a single directive addressing all MSD risk factors, combined with incentive measures) was selected by a majority of French experts following the group discussion as having the potentially most positive impact. However, the difficulty of predicting the impact of the proposed options without precise knowledge of their content was highlighted, and the ranking was accompanied by numerous comments. Conclusion: Beyond the value of such a consultation process at the European level (as part of a study/impact assessment), it will be important to closely monitor its impact on measures likely to be taken to prevent MSDs in Europe. (R.A.)