France

===Environment===
{{See also|List of national parks of France|Regional natural parks of France|Climate change in France}}
France was one of the first countries to create an environment ministry, in 1971.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protection of the Environment |url=http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/kid/pages_en/eco6.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425005903/http://www.ambafrance-ca.org/kid/pages_en/eco6.htm |archive-date=25 April 2011}}</ref> Although it is one of the most industrialised countries in the world, France is ranked [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions|only 19th by carbon dioxide emissions]], behind less populous nations such as Canada or Australia. This is due to the country's heavy investment in [[Nuclear power in France|nuclear power]] following the [[1973 oil crisis]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 2011 |title=Nuclear Power in France |url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719055222/http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 |access-date=17 July 2011 |website=World Nuclear Association}}</ref> which now accounts for 75 per cent of its electricity production<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Energy profile of France |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Earth |publisher=Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment |location=Washington, D.C. |url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Energy_profile_of_France |access-date=17 July 2011 |date=10 September 2010 |others=Topic editor: Langdon D. Clough |orig-date=First published: 23 April 2010 |editor-first=Cutler J. |editor-last=Cleveland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429235144/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Energy_profile_of_France |archive-date=29 April 2011 |author=Eia}}</ref> and results in less pollution.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Morgane |last=Remy |date=18 June 2010 |title=CO2 : la France moins pollueuse grâce au nucléaire |trans-title=CO2: France less polluting thanks to nuclear |url=http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/co2-la-france-moins-pollueuse-grace-au-nucleaire.N133933 |url-status=live |journal=L'Usine Nouvelle |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621042424/http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/co2-la-france-moins-pollueuse-grace-au-nucleaire.N133933 |archive-date=21 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 January 2008 |title=L'énergie nucléaire en France |trans-title=Nuclear energy in France |url=http://www.ambafrance-cn.org/L-energie-nucleaire-en-France.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701211529/http://www.ambafrance-cn.org/L-energie-nucleaire-en-France.html |archive-date=1 July 2010 |website=La France en Chine |language=fr}}</ref> According to the 2020 [[Environmental Performance Index]] conducted by [[Yale]] and [[Columbia University|Columbia]], France was the fifth most environmentally conscious country in the world (behind the United Kingdom).<ref>{{Cite web |title=2018 EPI Results {{!}} Environmental Performance Index |url=https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723205354/https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline |archive-date=23 July 2019 |access-date=20 August 2019 |website=epi.envirocenter.yale.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hsu |first=A. |display-authors=etal |year=2016 |title=2016 Environmental Performance Index |url=http://epi.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2016EPI_Full_Report_opt.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004102150/http://epi.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2016EPI_Full_Report_opt.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2017 |access-date=14 December 2017 |publisher=Yale University |location=New Haven, CT}}</ref>

Like all European Union state members, France agreed to cut [[carbon emissions]] by at least 20% of 1990 levels by 2020,<ref>{{Cite news |first1=Ian |last1=Traynor |first2=David |last2=Gow |date=21 February 2007 |title=EU promises 20% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/feb/21/climatechange.climatechangeenvironment |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> compared to the United States' plan to reduce emissions by 4% of 1990 levels.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Marie |last=Verdier |date=6 December 2009 |title=Les quatre enjeux de Copenhague |work=[[La Croix (newspaper)|La Croix]] |url=http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/S-informer/Sciences/Les-quatre-enjeux-de-Copenhague-_NG_-2009-12-06-569870 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111125721/http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/S-informer/Sciences/Les-quatre-enjeux-de-Copenhague-_NG_-2009-12-06-569870 |archive-date=11 January 2012}}</ref> {{As of|2009}}, French carbon dioxide emissions per capita were lower than that of China.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kanter |first=James |date=1 July 2010 |title=Per-Capita Emissions Rising in China |work=The New York Times |url=https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/emissions-soar-in-china-and-india/ |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> The country was set to impose a [[carbon tax]] in 2009 at 17 euros per tonne of carbon emitted,<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 September 2009 |title=France Sets Carbon Tax at 17 Euros a Ton |work=The New York Times |agency=Reuters |location=France |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/business/global/11carbon.html |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> which would have raised 4&nbsp;billion euros of revenue annually.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 September 2009 |title=France set to impose carbon tax |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8248392.stm |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref> However, the plan was abandoned due to fears of burdening French businesses.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saltmarsh |first=Matthew |date=23 March 2010 |title=France Abandons Plan for Carbon Tax |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/business/global/24iht-carbon.html |access-date=21 July 2011}}</ref>

Forests account for 31 per cent of France's land area—the fourth-highest proportion in Europe—representing an increase of 7 per cent since 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 July 2019 |title=Why France's forests are getting bigger |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/07/18/why-frances-forests-are-getting-bigger |access-date=20 August 2019 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Countries Compared by Environment > Forest area > % of land area |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Environment/Forest-area/%25-of-land-area#2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108120450/http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Environment/Forest-area/%25-of-land-area#2005 |archive-date=8 January 2018 |access-date=7 January 2018 |website=Nationmaster.com |publisher=International Statistics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Evolution of the French forest from 1984 to 1996 |url=http://www.ifn.fr/spip/?rubrique83&lang=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513083104/http://www.ifn.fr/spip/?rubrique83&lang=en |archive-date=13 May 2011 |publisher=Inventaire Forestier National [National Forest Inventory]}}</ref> French forests are some of the most diverse in Europe, comprising more than 140 species of trees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=La forêt en France et dans le monde |trans-title=The forest in France and in the world |url=http://www.lepapier.fr/foret_france.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727011505/http://www.lepapier.fr/foret_france.htm |archive-date=27 July 2010 |website=lepapier.fr |language=fr}}</ref> France had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 4.52/10, ranking it 123rd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{Cite journal |last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |year=2020 |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=5978 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=7723057 |pmid=33293507 |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M.|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}</ref> There are nine [[national park]]s<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parks and other protected areas in France |url=http://www.parks.it/world/FR/Eindex.html |website=Parks.it}}</ref> and 46 [[Protected area|natural parks]] in France.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fédération des parcs naturels régionaux de France |trans-title=Federation of Regional Natural Parks of France |url=http://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.tm.fr/fr/accueil/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712003310/http://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.tm.fr/fr/accueil/ |archive-date=12 July 2010 |language=fr}}</ref> A regional nature park<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 July 2013 |title=The regional nature Parks of France |url=http://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.tm.fr/en/parc.UK2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722030433/http://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.tm.fr/en/parc.UK2.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2013 |access-date=22 June 2014 |publisher=Fédération des Parcs naturels régionaux de France [Federation of the regional nature Parks of France]}}</ref> ({{Lang-fr|parc naturel régional|links=no}} or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the [[Government of France|national government]] covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty, to protect the scenery and heritage as well as setting up sustainable economic development in the area.<ref>{{Cite book |first=William M. |last=Lafferty |title=Sustainable communities in Europe |publisher=Earthscan |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-85383-791-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=VHP96jPKl-0C&pg=PA181 181]}}</ref> A PNR sets goals and guidelines for managed human habitation, sustainable economic development and protection of the natural environment based on each park's unique landscape and heritage. The parks foster ecological research programmes and public education in the natural sciences.<ref name="FGTO">{{Cite web |year=2008 |title=Regional Natural Parks |url=http://uk.franceguide.com/Regional-natural-parks.html?NodeID=1&EditoID=205227 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405192042/http://uk.franceguide.com/Regional-natural-parks.html?NodeID=1&EditoID=205227 |archive-date=5 April 2012 |access-date=27 October 2011 |website=France Guide |publisher=Maison de la France}}</ref> {{As of|2019}} there are 54 PNRs in France.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Découvrir les 54 Parcs |url=https://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.fr/les-parcs-naturels-regionaux-de-france/decouvrir-les-54-parcs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819171349/https://www.parcs-naturels-regionaux.fr/les-parcs-naturels-regionaux-de-france/decouvrir-les-54-parcs |archive-date=19 August 2019 |access-date=16 October 2019 |website=Fédération des Parcs naturels régionaux de France}}</ref>