Le plan Chablis dans le département des Vosges, mémoire d’une crise*

This article presents the main results of an evaluation of the “relief plan” (the set of measures undertaken in the forestry field by the public authorities in the wake of the 1999 storms) carried out by the Laboratory of Forest Policy at the ENGREF (National School for Rural Planning, Water and Forestry) in the French departement of the Vosges. The economic, ecological and social objectives pursued are first analysed. Financial, regulatory and information-related are then appraised together with plan implementation (seen both from the governing and governed sides), its effects (on wood harvesting and reafforestation) and its impact (in terms of stakeholder behaviour and how the sector is organised). This study shows that although the crisis was overcome fairly quickly by enlisting the energies of all concerned, many lessons can be drawn from this experience to help improve policy response in the event of another catastrophe.