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 Prime Minister of France and publication in the Journal Officiel de la République Française.
French national parks protect a total area of 26168km2 in core area and 30651km2 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]
| Name | Photograph | Department(s) | Core area | Buffer zone | Established | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calanques National Park (Parc national des Calanques) | Bouches-du-Rhône | 18 April 2012 | ||||
| Cévennes National Park (Parc national des Cévennes) | Lozère, Gard, Ardèche and Aveyron | 2 September 1970 | ||||
| Écrins National Park (Parc national des Écrins) | Isère and Hautes-Alpes | 27 March 1973 | ||||
| Forêts National Park (Parc national des forêts) | Haute-Marne and Côte-d'Or | 8 November 2019 | ||||
| Guadeloupe National Park (Parc national de la Guadeloupe) | Guadeloupe (overseas department) | 20 February 1989 | ||||
| Guiana Amazonian Park (Parc amazonien de Guyane) | French Guiana (overseas department) | 27 February 2007 | ||||
| Mercantour National Park (Parc national du Mercantour) | Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 18 August 1979 | ||||
| Port-Cros National Park (Parc national de Port-Cros) | Var | 14 December 1963 | ||||
| Pyrénées National Park (Parc national des Pyrénées) | Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 23 March 1967 | ||||
| Réunion National Park (Parc national de la Réunion) | Réunion (overseas department) | 5 March 2007 | ||||
| Vanoise National Park (Parc national de la Vanoise) | Savoie | 6 July 1963 |