The characteristics of ergodic divertor (ED) deuterium plasmas in the Tore Supra tokamak are discussed. The divertor volume is a relatively well limited region between the ED modules and ρ = τ/a equivalent to 0.8. The core (ρ ⩽ 0.8) plasma confinement is not degraded by the presence of the ED (by comparison with similar limiter, non-ED plasmas): the electron density and temperature profiles are not modified. The ED configuration compares well with a classical X point divertor: intrinsic impurities are screened out, the power load is deflected to dedicated surfaces, and density control through particle pumping is possible. Up to 5.5 MW of ion cyclotron resonance power and 3 MW of lower hybrid power have been successfully used, power exhaust being mainly by radiation (80%)