The France of abandoned lands: From rurality to wildness | Annik Schnitzler, Jean-Claude Génot

The idea of abandonment of rural spaces is hardly accepted by Western society, which is not inclined to appreciate the spontaneous evolution of nature. It is true that the abandonment of land carries a strongly negative emotional charge, associated with the misfortune of people, the end of ancestral peasant knowledge. When nature takes over, it is judged disorderly, abundant, and undervalued. Even today, it does not bring any prestige to the landscapes of Western societies, whose ideal is profit, innovation, and active dynamism. Due to the weight of preconceived ideas, this spontaneous nature, which could be assimilated to a "feral" space, also does not have the recognition of scientists concerned with conservation biology, nor of managers of protected areas. This book is a plea for neglected spaces, fallow lands, scrublands, and heaths in the French countryside, which have benefited from abandonment for over 100 years over very large areas. The protection of vast abandoned spaces is a further step in nature conservation, given the expansion of fallow lands in Europe which will allow the recovery of natural old forests in a few centuries, which are sorely lacking in France and Europe.