Overview
- The national forest inventory released on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, reports annual tree mortality in metropolitan France rose from 7.4 to 18.1 million cubic meters between the 2005–2013 and 2016–2024 periods.
- IGN and the Inventaire forestier national say repeated droughts and high temperatures have weakened trees and helped fungi, bacteria and wood‑boring insects such as bark beetles kill more trees.
- Forest area still grows to about 17.7 million hectares, but average tree growth fell roughly 8% versus the earlier baseline and about 9% of trees show altered condition, mainly in the North‑East.
- France’s forest carbon sink slowed from roughly 63 million tonnes CO2 per year to about 39 million tonnes over the two periods, cutting sequestration by about 38% and lowering the climate mitigation role of forests.
- The 2016–2024 assessment excludes the historic heatwaves, drought and fires of summer 2026, a gap that the IGN warns likely understates recent damage and could push mortality and carbon losses higher once quantified.