BOISmag 226
A trimmed budget
Though it took time to pass, the 2025 budget—finally adopted at the turn of February—deals a blow to forest and wood professionals, with a drastic cut in government funding. From €509 million in 2024, the budget envelope now amounts to only €228 million this year, severely reducing resources dedicated to sustainable forest management, wildfire prevention, and support for overseas forested regions.
In the context of a climate emergency, this budget cut looks like a non-sense and has been widely contested. In Parliament, an unprecedented alliance spanning left and right is calling for the vote to be reconsidered, warning it endangers the future of our forests. Eleven deputies have even lodged an appeal before the Constitutional Council, citing “constitutional breaches” in the budget’s promulgation process. The Court of Auditors also points to the “flaws” of a forestry policy struggling to account for environmental challenges. Within the sector’s institutions, the National Forestry Office (ONF)—already strained by years of shrinking staff and ever-expanding missions—has not hidden its concern: the reduction in its budget and the announced elimination of 95 positions in 2025 bode ill for the future!
Facing these challenges, the government is trying to defend its plan by highlighting targeted funding: €47.1 million for scaling up wood-based products, €25 million for the Biomass Heat program, and €135 million for forest renewal. Sums that fall far short of offsetting the overall loss, with the envelope down 55%!
More than a mere line on a balance sheet, the forest–wood sector sits at the crossroads of several issues essential to the country’s future: a carbon sink, a bulwark against soil erosion, a refuge for biodiversity, a lever for the ecological transition, and a major economic pillar for our regions with many non-relocatable jobs… its strengths are numerous and undeniable. With voices rising against a bargain-basement budget bill, there is still time to reverse the trend—to propose amendments, or even a corrective finance bill—to finally grant forests the budget they deserve.
Adèle Cazier