A total of 198 nonrepetitive clinical strains of Clostridium difficile isolated from different French hospitals in 1991 (n = 100) and 1997 (n = 98) were screened for decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones by plating onto Wilkins-Chalgren agar containing 16 micro g of ciprofloxacin per ml. The frequency of decreased susceptibility was 7% (14 of 198) and was identical for the years 1991 and 1997. Serogroups C, H, D, A9, and K accounted for five, four, two, one, and one of the resistant strains, respectively, one strain being nontypeable. Arbitrarily primed PCR typing showed that all resistant strains had unique patterns except two serotype C strains, which could not be clearly distinguished. All isolates with decreased susceptibility carried a mutation either in gyrA (eight mutations, amino acid changes Asp71-->Val in one, Thr82-->Ile in six, and Ala118-->Thr in one) or in gyrB (six mutations, amino acid changes Asp426-->Asn in five and Arg447-->Leu in one). These changes are similar to those already described in other species except for Asp71-->Val, which is novel, and Ala118-->Thr, which is exceptional. Attempts to detect the topoisomerase IV parC gene by PCR amplification with universal parC primers or DNA-DNA hybridization under low-stringency conditions were unsuccessful. The susceptibilities of all resistant strains to ciprofloxacin and ethidium bromide were not affected by the addition of reserpine at 20 micro g/ml. In conclusion, decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones in C. difficile is rare in France and is associated with the occurrence of a gyrA or gyrB mutation.