France's top court annuls tree-planting subsidy decree over lack of public consultation

France’s highest administrative court ruled on 15 July 2026 that the decree establishing subsidies for its ambitious billion-tree programme was unlawful, citing the absence of a required public consultation under the Environmental Charter. Decree No. 2025-401, adopted in May 2025, allowed state aid to cover 40-65 % of forest-renewal expenses, a measure that Canopée claimed infringed procedural rights. While the Council of State annulled the main funding decree, it rejected the NGO’s bid to cancel a related administrative order because the challenge missed the filing deadline.

The court’s judgment was limited to the procedural flaw and did not address the substantive environmental concerns raised. Subsidies under the invalidated rules had already been applied to forestry projects on about 18,000 acres, but the court noted that eight months of activity was insufficient to assess the programme’s full impact. Minister for Ecological Transition Monique Barbut must now devise a new subsidy framework that includes mandatory public consultation and meets both legal and ecological standards.