A national forest () is a forest owned by the French state. This status originates with the of 1566. French national forests are managed by the National Board of Forestry (NFB) under the national forestry law, the successor of ordinances and regulations that have taken place since the time of Charlemagne "at the discretion of political, economic and demographic context of France, making the first state-owned natural forest areas whose management is rigorously controlled".
National forests have existed in some form since ancient times: in fact state ownership is a legal system distinct from inheritance and private property that dates back to the (1566).
Thus, a number of royal forests are the "property" of the state, which has delegated the management of the Ministry of Agriculture who has himself told NFB and sometimes about national parks. or the abusus, the public domain is inalienable.
Prior to 2006, Article L. 62 in French national code stated:
This article therefore specified that forests can be sold by or ) ("ordinary form"), of woods of less than 150 hectare, at least from other large forests.
In 2006, an ordonnance which codifies the legislative part of the ; former Article L. 62 was renumbered Article L. 3211-5 of the CGPPP. But the renumbering was accompanied by a significant change.
The new Article L. 3211-5 provides:
Under the Forest Code, the National Forests Office (NFB) manages state forests. Management is made under a contract of objectives and performance between the state and the NFB, which organizes details of national forest policy. Following the Grenelle Environment a dual general purpose is to Produce more wood, while better preserving the biodiversity. This sentence does not apply to the management of national forests, but to objective of sable harvesting.
Each forest has a forest management (plan) written for a period of 15âÂÂ25 years and approved by the Minister of Agriculture. This arrangement establishes guidelines and management plans cuts during the period.
Revenues from state-owned forests are used for operation of the NFB, which manages both profitable forests and unprofitable forests (especially in the mountains or in Provence). The potential benefit of the NFB could return to the state.
In France there are approximately 1,300 National Forests for a combined forest area of about 1,800,000 hectare.
690,000 hectare were originally royal forests; 340,000 hectare are former abbey forests confiscated by the State during the Revolution; 65,000 hectare are forested dunes under the order of February 5, 1817; 390,000 hectare consists of eroding land acquired under the land restoration mountain; 200,000 hectare acquired from private forests since 1914.