The forest social component is often seen as a new concern. Therefore, back to the 19th Century, the French hygienist movement had claimed the social and leisure role of the forests. This social role (defined by an urban elite) had always exists in the background of the forest management, more or less visible, regarding the eras in the forest policies. Up to the sixties, numerous historical studies impart to the relation 'forest-society`. In the seventies, in France, comprehensive sociological surveys (SARES, Ballion, Kalaora) were carried out. Then, during the nineties different surveys (in the forest sector as well in natural resources one) had shown the emergence of the 'environmental concerns` in the public sphere. The paradigm is evolving; forests embody - for a majority of French people - the paradigm of Nature (Eizner, 1995). This communication will target the link 'forest-society` and will be based on a sociological analyse of surveys that were made in France from 1960 up until today. We assumed that this new glance to Nature had transformed also the relation between society and its forests. The ways to grasp the productive and socials forest functions, to see forest and exploited it are now tinged with environmental discourses. In saying that, we have to be prudent. We cannot conceptualise completely the link between rural society and forests without taking into consideration the dominant urban values system. Nevertheless, this awareness 'peak` seems to be less salient today. Forests are not yet integral protected areas. Moreover, the forest leisure activities remain a greatest stake for our western (mostly urban) societies. Differences with those activities could certainly be identified through the years. The social attitude towards forest differed regarding social parameters and geographical contexts (urban / rural, for example). A sociological analysis could help to weigh the influence of new trends without obscuring the social reality.