It is the largest cork oak forest in France: in the Var, the cork industry wants to revive itself

Less than 0.5%. This is more or less the exploited portion of the cork oak forest (professionals call it a cork oak forest) in the Var. Spread over fifty thousand hectares, the largest cork oak forest in France represents an undervalued resource.

This July morning, however, the CEO of Diam Bouchage, the last major national cork manufacturer, had traveled with his teams from the company's headquarters in Céret (Pyrénées-Orientales) to visit a young plantation in the heart of the Maures massif.

First low-carbon labeled plantation

Diam, which is heavily involved in the revival of the French cork industry, has just "invested in the future" (with the Region providing 30%) on a plot certified low carbon, a label from the Ministry of Ecological Transition which mobilizes private funding for climate transition projects.

Over two hectares, 1,800 young cork oak plants were planted in the heart of a cork oak forest completely decimated by the fires of 2017. The flames had engulfed the 245 hectares of the Château de Brégançon forest group, in Bormes-les-Mimosas.

"The forest burned three times, in 1964, 1990 and 2017. The cork oaks are struggling to recover, but 90% have resisted. It's a wonderful tree! Thanks to its thick bark which acts as a firebreak, it is a real ally in the fight against fires, the main enemy of the Var forests," says Alain Tézenas, forestry manager.

The latter is one of the 245 private owners affiliated with the Free Trade Union Association (ASL) for the management of Var Suberaie forests. It was created in the aftermath of the fires of 1989 and 1990 to encourage private owners in the Maures massif to renovate, manage, and maintain their forests. Its main lever for action? The creation of a cork industry, to stem the decline of the cork oak forest. "It is the lack of forest management that endangers these ecosystems. At the ASL we are fighting to say that we must exploit rather than protect them," insists Gisela Santos Matos, forestry engineer at the ASL.

50 years before exploitation

"Within thirty years, the afforestation carried out could generate 90 tonnes of CO stored in the atmosphere, thanks to the sequestration of trees by the mechanism of photosynthesis. But it was necessary to plant more, to ultimately reach a density of 800 plants per hectare. In a Mediterranean climate, there is between 20 and 30% mortality," estimates Fabien Nguyen, cork purchasing manager at Diam Bouchage.

For the cork maker from Vallespir (Pyrénées-Orientales), the challenge is to protect the company's most precious resource: cork, from which it makes stoppers.

"We are a family business with a long-term management approach. If we still want cork in ten years, we need to invest in maintenance, exploitation, and also in renewing the cork oak stands so that they remain productive," argues the general manager, Eric Feunteun. A bet on the future, conditioned by the very slow growth of the trees.

Thirty years is the time it takes for cork oaks to reach seventy centimeters in diameter and a height of 1.20 meters. "Then we carry out a first harvest of the bark, what we call demasclage. But this first male cork cannot be used to make corks, there is not enough suberin, a molecule that gives elasticity. We have to wait another fifteen years for the exploitation to become profitable, during the second harvest: we then obtain female cork, the only one valued in the cork industry," explains Fabien Nguyen.

Meeting the challenge of male cork

This so-called "male" cork , with its irregular structure, is very hard and lacking elasticity and is said to be dominant in the Var region. "Along with burnt oak, it covers 70% of cork oak forests," estimates Gisela Santos Matos.

For those involved in the sector, industrial outlets must therefore imperatively develop. In particular, those for so-called "male" or burnt cork, which has been in little demand until now. "It is this cork that will enable the revival of the Var cork oak forest since the demascling operations will result, in the coming decades, in the production of female cork, cork suitable for corking," insists Fabien Nguyen.

In the department, momentum is already underway. During the last 2025 campaign, 30 tons of male and burnt cork were extracted by ASL Suberaie varoise, on behalf of Lozérien Vidal's Acier, an innovative company specializing in the manufacture of steel-cork insulation panels.

With Diam, Provence rediscovers its taste for cork stoppers

A 100% Provençal cork stopper sourced from the cork oak forests of the Var region. This was a bold move in 2014, in a department where local production had virtually disappeared since the 1960s.

But it's hitting the mark today: 4,800,000 Provençal cork stoppers leave the Diam Bouchage factories each year, thanks to a partnership with ASL, which cultivates 90 hectares of cork oak forests. Thanks also to the involvement of Estandon, the union of cooperative wineries based in Brignoles.

Estandon, a locomotive for Var cork

"Diam had initiated this project to revive the French cork industry in the Pyrénées-Orientales," recalls Gaétan Hawadier, deputy director of Estandon. "They wanted to set up in the Var, we facilitated the start of this industry by putting volumes on the table."

Volumes that have truly driven the growth of Var cork: the Brignoles-based company buys 3 million corks from Provence each year, or two-thirds of the volumes used by Diam Bouchage in the department. "We cork 95% of our core brand Estandon. There is a real improvement compared to the corks we used in the past, thanks to the technological process developed by Diam," appreciates Gaétan Hawadier. The French cork manufacturer, which is also the world leader in technological corks, has implemented a process, still unique on the market, which eliminates all the TCA molecules responsible for cork taint in wine.

A technology guaranteed to last between 2 and 30 years depending on the proposed oxygen permeability levels. Around sixty wineries in Provence have been convinced.

"Buscatiers" trained to harvest cork from oak trees

To revive the industry, the Massif des Maures Mixed Syndicate wants to rediscover the know-how of cork lifters.

That morning, on a plot of land in Collobrières, bouscatiers – lumberjacks in Provençal – were busy despite the scorching heat.

Axe in hand, they take part in the cork lifting training course, organised by the Syndicat mixte du massif des Maures (SMMM), in partnership with the Paca region forestry centre.

Three days later, they will leave with a Surocat qualification certificate, the European standard developed and implemented in Catalonia, a region with expertise in the sector. On that day, Catalan specialists will be sharing their knowledge.

Relaunch the sector to preserve the forest

"It's about reclaiming know-how," argues Christine Amrane, mayor of Collobrières and president of the SMMM. "It's been so long since we've harvested Var cork that we need to relearn how to harvest it, while preserving the trees."

"It's about reviving the industry," she explains. " Because while the resources are there and the opportunities exist, the workforce is lacking. "This work is difficult," the elected official acknowledges. Just like recruitment.

Diversify and transmit

This is what is underlined in the Recovery Plan supported by the union, whose objective, assures the mayor, is first and foremost "the preservation of the forest" : "Without maintenance, everything becomes scrubland again, conducive to the spread of fires."

"And then," adds Philippe Bertaut, head of the regional branch of the Forestry Centre, "there is potential there, with a diversity of uses and an increasing value, which we should not deprive ourselves of" (infographic opposite) .

For the Syndicat mixte du massif des Maures, as for the Association syndicale libre de la Suberaie varoise, it is therefore urgent to put the cork oak forest back into cultivation, to restore economic attractiveness to the sector and to re-establish activity, particularly in the Maures region, the cradle of cork production until the 1970s.

Among the day's students, Fabrice is a market gardener and chestnut grower. He strives to lift large pieces of cork without breaking them in order to preserve their value. His soaked T-shirt testifies to the harshness of the task.

"We must respect the trees: the climate situation is complicated for them, so we must treat them well." With his certified knowledge, he will now be able to participate in "reviving the forest." Just like Alexis and Élodie, brother and sister employed in a wine estate which, in addition to vines, also has cork oaks.

Loïc works in the field of eco-construction. The use of cork for insulation led him to want to learn more. As for Pascal, a municipal employee from Collobrières, he came to learn and hopes to be able to pass on the technique.

Attacks in order

It's also about transmission. "We shouldn't expect results by the end of the mandate (in less than a year, Editor's note)," says Christine Amrane. "We're working for future generations." Hopefully, by then, the cork oak forest will resist attacks.

Episodic ones, such as the attacks of the silkworm moth which, in recent weeks, have increased the pressure on the cork oak forest (our editions of July 4) . Or more entrenched ones, of climate change.

Because even if cork oaks are, explains Philippe Bertaut, "a species adapted and resilient to heat and difficult conditions" , these affect the regeneration of cork.

Where previously it was necessary to wait eight years between two fundraisings, the delay can now be as long as twelve or even fourteen years. This shows that reviving the sector is a long-term task.