French forests: Putting down roots

FRANCE 24 English

Into the woods we go on this week's French Connections. Over 30 percent of mainland France is covered by forests. It's the fourth most forested country in Europe. We explore this heritage, why France’s trees are suffering, and how, for some, hugging a tree can do a body good.  Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:03 - It's time now for French Connections.

00:05 Our look at the intricacies of life here in France.

00:07 And I'm joined for that by Solange Mougin.

00:09 Welcome to the program, Solange.

00:11 This week, you're focusing on French forests,

00:13 and we're gonna kick off in Paris.

00:15 - We are.

00:16 There is a push to create urban forests

00:17 in the French capital and in other cities.

00:20 And I admit it is a bit of a paradox

00:22 to start a forest show in an urban hub,

00:24 but I think it actually illustrates the gift

00:26 that such trees can give,

00:28 and also their fragile state due to climate change.

00:31 Now in Paris, the mayor has decided

00:33 to plant 170,000 trees by 2026,

00:37 with autumn and winter being the ideal moment to do this.

00:41 And in Paris, creating multiple urban forests,

00:44 as they're called, by digging up the concrete.

00:47 (speaking in foreign language)

00:56 Now critics of Paris's mayor have balked

00:58 at city hall calling this a forest,

01:00 which is by nature an eco, a whole ecosystem,

01:04 and not just some plantings.

01:06 - Okay, but Solange, there is an abundance

01:08 of forests here in France.

01:10 17 million hectares to be precise.

01:12 - Yeah, that is the equivalent of 31 million football fields.

01:16 Forests cover some 31% of metropolitan France,

01:21 of the French territory.

01:22 And such expenses are actually increasing.

01:25 Forests went in 1840 from 9 million

01:28 to 17 million hectares in 2021,

01:31 bringing France to the fourth place

01:35 of being the most forested country in Europe.

01:37 Now national management dates back to Louis XIV.

01:41 In the 1680s, France's first minister of state,

01:44 Jean-Baptiste Colbert, created an ordinance

01:46 to restore and control France's dwindling forests.

01:50 (speaking in foreign language)

01:54 (birds chirping)

01:57 - Now today, management is overseen

02:08 by l'Office National des Forêts,

02:10 for private and public forests.

02:12 It does what's called sylviculture.

02:14 Now this is our word du jour.

02:16 It is actually the same word in English,

02:18 spelled slightly differently,

02:19 and it comes from the Latin sylvi, or forest,

02:23 and what it means is to control forests

02:27 and to meet its needs and values.

02:30 - Okay, let's talk about some of those needs,

02:32 specifically the need for wood.

02:34 - Yeah, France actually imports more wood

02:37 than it exports, despite having these extensive forests.

02:41 In 2021, the import-export deficit was 8.6 billion euros.

02:46 Now part of this has to do with the kind of forests

02:48 that France has.

02:49 Another element is furniture isn't made here

02:51 as much as it used to be,

02:53 and on top of that, there's an increase in demand

02:55 and competition from abroad.

02:57 (speaking in foreign language)

03:00 - Now with regard to climate change,

03:12 forests, obviously a key part of the government's plan

03:15 to combat the problem.

03:16 - Yeah, Emmanuel Macron has called for a billion trees

03:19 to be planted in the next decade.

03:21 Now that sounds great, and it is,

03:23 but there are also big question marks.

03:25 What trees will adapt best to a hotter planet?

03:28 One type of tree or forests of many trees,

03:32 forests for industry or biodiversity,

03:34 whether to continue clear-cutting

03:36 as it is not outlawed in France,

03:38 and on what land, for only a quarter of French forests

03:42 are publicly owned, 16% by municipalities,

03:45 and 9% are domaniale, or they belong to the state.

03:49 Now this means that 75% of French forests

03:52 are in private hands

03:54 and in the hands of over three million landowners.

03:56 Now for many of them, managing these forests,

03:59 even with the help of specialists,

04:00 well, it's pretty tricky.

04:01 (speaking in foreign language)

04:05 - Okay, Solange, let's talk for a moment

04:17 about the state of French forests.

04:20 How are they doing at the moment?

04:21 - Well, they're not doing well at all, really.

04:23 Despite planting efforts, which do not always work,

04:26 with some 38% of newly planted trees not surviving,

04:29 the mortality of trees,

04:31 even those that are established in French forests,

04:34 has increased by 80% in the past decade,

04:37 be it from hotter temperatures, drought,

04:39 or more attacks by insects and funguses

04:41 due to climate change.

04:42 Now French forests, well, they are suffering.

04:45 (speaking in foreign language)

04:49 (speaking in foreign language)

04:52 - Now one effect of this ill state

05:16 is trees are not holding carbon

05:18 as well as they used to.

05:19 French forests currently capture around 7.5%

05:22 of France's annual emissions.

05:24 That is two times less than a decade ago.

05:27 (speaking in foreign language)

05:31 - Sounds pretty worrying, Solange,

05:40 but you have managed to find a positive note

05:42 for us to end on.

05:42 - I have.

05:43 French people, well, they love their forests,

05:46 be it in a classic recreational way

05:49 or in alternative ones like night walks,

05:51 barefoot strolls in the forest, and tree hugging.

05:54 (speaking in foreign language)

05:58 - After the countryside,

06:03 forests are the French people's number two

06:06 favorite natural place to be,

06:07 with some 700,000 visits to forests a year.

06:12 That is the equivalent of 22 people

06:15 every single second in France enjoying a forest

06:18 and feeling how it is good for all of us.

06:21 - All right, well, thank you very much indeed

06:23 for that, Solange.

06:24 For more episodes of French Connections,

06:26 do check out our website, france24.com,

06:28 and don't hesitate to reach out on social media

06:30 if you've got any questions about life here in Paris.

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