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Sawmills are essential links in the forestry and timber industry, but are little known to the general public. However, they are undergoing profound transformations, which underpin the industrial exploitation of forests. Based on four examples from the Massif Central, Roméo Bondon shows the ecological and socio-economic impacts of industrial sawmills and the potential offered by alternative sawmills. This journey between opposing worlds invites us to re-politicize the question of sawmills and to give due consideration to small-scale and semi-industrial sawmills, often forced to shut up shop due to a lack of commercial interest.