France's forests under threat of climate change need billions of euros invested to adapt

An oak falling in the Forest of Berce in the Loire region. Millions of hectares of French forests are in need of regeneration in the face of the heat and effects of climate change. © Thibault Camus/AP

France needs to invest eight to ten billion euros over ten years to adapt its forests to climate change by planting trees and better managing the land.

Introducing a report on the state of France’s forests, Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau on Wednesday evoked the need for intervention on “more than a million hectares” of forest, at a cost of eight to ten billion euros over the next decade.