Can mairie force me to cut down trees at French home?

Reader Question: Apparently the mayor has been complaining about trees in the village: can I be forced to cut any down on my land?

While rare, it is possible for local officials to demand you cut down a tree on your property. 

However, there has to be a valid reason given, and in most cases they may just ask you to cut down a branch as opposed to uprooting the entire tree.

One possible reason is if a tree on private land is encroaching onto public land (a public road or pavement) and is causing an obstruction or potential danger to the public. 

In such cases, Article L.2212-2 of the local authorities code (code général des collectivités territoriales) allows mairies to request a property owner or resident prune or fell a tree causing such an obstruction. 

In the event that someone does not respond to the request to prune or cut the tree, it also gives mairies the right to carry out the works themselves, and then request a refund from the resident or owner.

Similarly, neighbours can ask you to prune overhanging tree branches, especially if a tree is planted too close to the property border (generally closer than two metres from the boundary) or has debris dropping into their garden. 

Neighbours can also claim that the presence of a tree negatively affects the comfort or value of their property, for example by blocking sunlight or causing issues in their garden such as dropping rotting fruit or growing roots into their fence. 

If you do not respond to requests from the neighbour to resolve the issue, they can ask the mairie to take further action, although the most common course is to reach out to a conciliateur de justice for an amicable solution.

What they cannot do is cut the tree down of their own accord or for purely aesthetic reasons, as this can lead to heavy fines. 

Another possible reason for the complaints is trees needing to be pruned in relation to undergrowth clearance (débroussaillage) rules. 

In some cases, trees may need to be trimmed or pruned to reduce the risk of wildfires spreading, especially if there are low-lying branches.

It is, however, uncommon to need to completely cut down trees due to this.

Exact rules depend on where your property is located, however if obligatory undergrowth clearance has not yet been completed, you risk a fine.