ONF was founded in 1964. Since 1980, almost a third of the ONF workforce has been cut. The agency had gone through a series of structural reforms in the 2000s.
Le Monde reported in 2012 that 30 forest officials took their own lives between 2002 and 2012. An internal analysis reported demotivation at the workplace, a high level of stress and a serious risk of psychosocial disorder for ONF employees. ==Ranks and rank insignia==