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There was 8.5million hectares of forest in 1830, the Institut National de l’Information Géographique et For­estière said – and 17million hectares today, says the Office National des Forêts.

This is due to changes in farm practices and reforesting projects launched after the war.Forests are 67% broadleaf, 21% conifer, and 12% mixed.

France has the third largest cover in Europe after Germany and Sweden, yet still imports more than it produces.

Numbers of plants, animals and insects have fallen, as 83% of forests have only two varieties of trees, and researchers say industrial clear-felling is creating problems with flooding while climate change is bringing in new parasites.