Squidders said:
Well, it looks for all intents that visiting the area is going to be the usual hotel which sucks. There's no way i'm going to be able to find any secret spots in a few weekends climbing a year.
It's a shame that such a large country with such a comparitively small population don't allow the use of the free/wild space more.
Lets face it, most forest fires are caused either naturally or by people smoking or leaving glass around or arson etc...
Squidders,
France, a large country with little people ?
It's all a matter of perspective I guess... Coming from Quebec, I find France to be small and overpopulated. The environment is already badly degraded here. At least compared to where I come from.
Anyways...
Forest fires are indeed often caused by glass and smokes and such, but I think you underestimate the level of dryness those woods can attain. Just a spark from a campfire can burst into flames in very, very little time. Over here in the south, we have a semi-arid climate. In my town, we have over 300 days of bright sun a year. That is not a lot of rain. And as the climate heats up, there is less and less glaciers to feed the rivers, and it's just getting dryer and dryer everywhere.
As much as I find many regulations to be completely stupid, the campfire regulations are, IMHO, perfectly sane... I personally avoid making campfires most of the time when it's dry anyways (even outside of legally stated interdictions, whenever I see that it's dry enough to be dangerous). A self-made, ultralight alcohol burner does it for the cooking. Maybe it's less romantic and less "re-enacting", but it boils my water faster and it's less visible at night.
While most "wild camping" is forbidden, "bivouacking" (sleeping in the bush without spending more than the night on a given location) is either accepted or tolerated, even in parks. What will get you expulsed is disrespectful behavior : leaving trash behind, making excessive noise, or irresponsible fires. I personally think the rangers are quite cool : they will lecture a little and walk you out of the zone, usually. I'm not that kind with people who mess up with the wilds...
The facts are that very few people will ever bother to come and check the woods after dark, so you can sleep wherever you want, as long as you stay relatively "low profile". I've spent many, many nights in the bush, either on private land, public land or national parks without anyone bothering me. I just do it with minimal light and noise... and I leave no trace (which any good bushcrafter should do anyways). IOW, I do like my indian ancestors did while in ennemy territory... and I think that any skilled bushcrafter can easily go unnoticed in the french wilderness if he wants to.
Just my humble opinion...
Cheers,
David
