List of national parks of France
The national parks of France are a system of eleven national parks throughout metropolitan France and its overseas departments, coordinated by National Parks of France (French: Parcs nationaux de France) within the French Office for Biodiversity (Office français pour la biodiversité), an établissement public à caractère administratif guided by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The first national park was established in 1963; the most recent park was established in 2019. National parks are created by decree with the signature of the
French national parks protect a total area of 26,168 square kilometres (10,104 sq mi) in core area and 30,651 square kilometres (11,834 sq mi) in buffer zones. This puts over 9.5% of French territory under the protection of national parks; 29.5% of French lands and 22% of French waters are covered by some level of protection. French national parks draw over 8.5 million visitors annually.[1]
List
Name | Photograph | Department(s) | Core area | Buffer zone | Established |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calanques National Park (Parc national des Calanques) |
Bouches-du-Rhône | 520 km2 (201 sq mi) | 1,060 km2 (409 sq mi) | 18 April 2012 | |
Cévennes National Park (Parc national des Cévennes) |
Lozère, Gard, Ardèche and Aveyron | 937 km2 (362 sq mi) | 2,793 km2 (1,078 sq mi) | 2 September 1970 | |
Écrins National Park (Parc national des Écrins) |
Isère and Hautes-Alpes | 925 km2 (357 sq mi) | 1,788 km2 (690 sq mi) | 27 March 1973 | |
Forêts National Park (Parc national des forêts) |
Haute-Marne and Côte-d'Or | 560 km2 (216 sq mi) | 1,850 km2 (714 sq mi) | 8 November 2019 | |
Guadeloupe National Park (Parc national de la Guadeloupe) |
Guadeloupe (overseas department) | 221 km2 (85 sq mi) | 2,244 km2 (866 sq mi) | 20 February 1989 | |
Guiana Amazonian Park (Parc amazonien de Guyane) |
French Guiana (overseas department) | 20,236 km2 (7,813 sq mi) | 13,615 km2 (5,257 sq mi) | 27 February 2007 | |
Mercantour National Park (Parc national du Mercantour) |
Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 679 km2 (262 sq mi) | 1,467 km2 (566 sq mi) | 18 August 1979 | |
Port-Cros National Park (Parc national de Port-Cros) |
Var | 46 km2 (18 sq mi) | 1,451 km2 (560 sq mi) | 14 December 1963 | |
Pyrénées National Park (Parc national des Pyrénées) |
Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 458 km2 (177 sq mi) | 2,077 km2 (802 sq mi) | 23 March 1967 | |
Réunion National Park (Parc national de la Réunion) |
Réunion (overseas department) | 1,054 km2 (407 sq mi) | 877 km2 (339 sq mi) | 5 March 2007 | |
Vanoise National Park (Parc national de la Vanoise) |
Savoie | 534 km2 (206 sq mi) | 1,427 km2 (551 sq mi) | 6 July 1963 |
See also
- Regional natural parks of France
- List of national parks in the Alps
- Tourism in France
References
- ^ "Les Parcs Nationaux". Les Parcs Nationaux. Retrieved 20 September 2020.