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French Botanist Francis Hallé Dies at 87 in Montpellier

The champion of tropical primary forests earned renown for pioneering canopy research.

Overview

  • The Association Francis Hallé announced his death, stating he died on December 31 at 23:00 at home in Montpellier, surrounded by family.
  • The association, created in 2019, praised him as “a great explorer of life” who deepened public understanding of primary forests.
  • A leading specialist in tropical ecosystems, he spent around two decades studying the canopy through the Radeau des cimes project.
  • He served as a botany professor at the University of Montpellier and at Lovanium University in Kinshasa after extensive field missions across Java, Sumatra, French Guiana, Cameroon, Gabon, Peru and Madagascar.
  • In 2024 he published La Beauté du vivant with Actes Sud and gave a major interview that amplified his advocacy for protecting primary forests.