**Abstract**

The recombinant vaccinia–rabies vaccine, now known as Raboral®, has been widely used in Europe and North America to control/eliminate rabies in the principal wildlife vectors, and thus prevent human transmission. The origins of this vaccine are sometimes forgotten, although the formulation has not changed substantially in almost four decades. This groundbreaking vaccine was assembled by a team at a very young (at that time) genetic engineering company, Transgène, in Strasbourg, France. The joint leaders of the rabies vaccine team reflect, 36 years later, on the trials and tribulations that went hand in hand with the construction of the vaccine.

**Keywords:** Alsace, glycoprotein, Pasteur, rabies, Raboral, vaccine, vaccinia virus, wildlife
