Emmanuel Macron launched an appeal for donations for the rebirth of the Fontainebleau forest, under the aegis of the Heritage Foundation. What is the heritage dimension of this forest?
It is a story that begins in the 1830s with the first mobilization of painters and writers who were indignant against the projects of sandstone and sand exploitation and logging in the Fontainebleau forest. Thirty years later, the artists of the Barbizon school, including Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot and Jean-François Millet, obtained a measure of protection for these landscapes that they painted extensively: the imperial decree of August 13, 1861 created a nature reserve of 1,600 hectares selected for their aesthetic and artistic value. It is the first site in the world to benefit from such protection. This decision comes eleven years before the creation of the Yellowstone Park in the United States, an area this time protected for its natural value. In France, nature protection began from cultural arguments.
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