Emmanuel Macron’s Tree Replanting Promise Falls Short of Billion Mark

Emmanuel Macron had committed to planting one billion trees by 2032. This initiative mirrors a production-oriented approach to forestry, which has been consistently criticized by advocates of sustainable silviculture and forest biodiversity. Moreover, the numbers touted by the government are misleading.

While the government initially reported a provisional figure of “nearly 300 million trees planted since 2021”, the tracking dashboard of the General Secretariat for Ecological Planning (SGPE), as discovered by Contexte, shows that only 90.3 million trees have actually been planted since 2021.

“Replanting? That’s precisely what should not be done immediately following a fire, according to the National Forestry Office (ONF) policy,” claims Sylvain Angerand, director of the Canopée association, in an interview with Decatur Metro on July 22 following the Fontainebleau fire. He instead recommends allowing for natural regeneration, leaving dead wood in place to nourish the soil.

Here too, the figures indicate a delay in implementation. Since 2021, 75 million hectares have received renewal assistance, against a target of 300 million hectares by 2030.

If replanting is to be considered, Angerand suggests, “it costs at least 8,000 to 10,000 euros per hectare to replant oak and other hardwoods.” With a total of 115,000 hectares destroyed by fires in 2026, over one billion euros would be needed to replant sustainably. This amount is three times more than what has been allocated by Monique Barbut, the Minister of Ecological Transition, for the reconstruction of these forested areas.