First results from the EROS-II microlensing experiment

EROS-II is a second generation microlensing experiment. The experimental setup, in operation at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) at La Silla (Chile) since mid-1996 is briefly described together with its scientific objectives. The first results from our microlensing searches towards the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and the Galactic Plane are presented. We also give some results from a dedicated campaign which took place in 96-97, and aimed at studying magellanic Cepheids systematically. We conclude by an overview of the semi-automated supernov\ae search.