Question 16612 — woods and forests

Summary

Mr. Benoît Blanchard questions the Minister of Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Sovereignty on the management conditions of the Montmorency national forest, the main forest area of ​​Val-d'Oise. The heatwave episode that Île-de-France is currently experiencing recalls, with particular acuteness, the role of the Ile-de-France forests as islands of coolness and refuge for residents, a function which is added to the already recognized ecological and social roles of the Montmorency forest. The classification of this massif as a protective forest, by Decree No. 2026-235 of March 30, 2026, constitutes a step forward awaited for several years, which guarantees its land sustainability in the face of urban pressure. However, it does not answer the questions that remain about the modalities of its silvicultural management. Several local associations and many elected officials note the persistence of cutting practices whose scale and health justification raise questions, in a massif largely composed of chestnut trees affected by ink disease. If sanitary cuts may prove necessary in the face of this decline, their volume and location must be able to be objectified with local stakeholders, rather than presented as a fait accompli. This concern is reinforced by the observation of the Sauvegarde Forêts-IDF association, which warns of the fact that, more widely in Île-de-France, numerous development plans would set harvesting rates reaching, or even exceeding, 100% of the biological production of the stands. However, the situation remains ambiguous: if the ONF indicates that it has communicated, since February 2025, the volumes designated and sold within the framework of the forest committees, this communication remains confined to a restricted instance. At the same time, the ONF announced, in March 2026, its intention to simplify the InfoCupes by precisely removing the notions of volume and surface area, on the grounds that they would be subject to misinterpretation. Such a development would amount to depriving residents and associations of the most useful information, that which allows them to compare the cuts made to the development plan in force, before until the work is started. Beyond this climate issue, the Montmorency forest plays a leading social and environmental role: with nearly six million visitors each year, it constitutes an essential green lung for the north of the Ile-de-France region and a refuge for threatened species in Île-de-France. The preservation of its biodiversity justifies studying the extension of the perimeter of existing biological reserves to this massive and that natural regeneration is favored whenever possible, limiting the use of heavy felling and heavy machinery. He asks what measures the Government intends to take to guarantee real transparency from the ONF on the volumes and areas of felling carried out, particularly with regard to the project to simplify InfoCoupes, and to promote a reduction in the use of clear felling as well as a priority given to natural regeneration on this massif.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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