Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of forwarding messages over a network. The message forwarding method is implemented in a router (101a to 101 g) of a distributed network (100) comprising, at the level of the OSI layer 7, at least one sub network (102a to 102c) being constrained, the method comprising at least the following steps: processing a unique format for the whole set of messages; for a given message, identifying the next routers (101a to 101g) to be reached in order to forward the message to its recipient or recipients; for a given message, identifying the transmission service quality; assigning priorities to the messages as a function of the service quality requirements identified in the previous step; adapting the content of the message so as to pass through a constrained sub-network (102a to 102c). The method notably applies to exchanges of messages on networks constituted by heterogeneous sub networks.