Forest of Villefermoy, Natura 2000 protected forest in Seine-et-Marne, France

The forest of Villefermoy is a wooded massif of over 4,000 hectares, 2,675 of them state forest, on the clay plateau of the Brie in Seine-et-Marne. It is crossed by long straight rides, notably the route de Valence running north to south, and by star-shaped junctions such as the carrefour des Huit Routes at its centre. The state forest is split in two by the agricultural clearing of the RD 67 between La Chapelle-Rablais and Échouboulains.

Originally owned by medieval abbeys including Barbeau and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the forest served as a royal hunting ground for Louis XVI before becoming nationalized state property following the French Revolution in the late 18th century.

The forest's name comes from the former Villefermoy abbey-farm, built by monks of Barbeau, who also dug and maintained the 40-hectare pond beside it, divided into four parts by dikes, for fishing. Straight rides and star-shaped crossroads such as the Carrefour des Huit Routes recall the long hunting tradition of the massif, once a hunting domain of Louis XVI.

The forest lies about 60 km south-east of Paris and 20 km east of Melun, spread over eight communes of Seine-et-Marne. The RD 67 crosses the massif through the agricultural clearing between La Chapelle-Rablais and Échouboulains, dividing the state forest into a western part and the Bois de Saint-Germain-Laval to the east. The main tracks are straight allées, notably the route de Valence running north to south, meeting at star-shaped crossroads such as the carrefour des Huit Routes in the centre.

The forest's ponds are mostly old extraction pits for meulière, a building stone, and some have turned into peat bogs where organic matter accumulated over centuries in waterlogged hollows. The 40-hectare étang de Villefermoy beside the former farm-abbey was dug and maintained for fishing by the monks of Barbeau, and is divided into four parts by dikes.