France is one of the largest countries in Europe in terms of both land area and population. It has been a world economic power for many centuries. The French have been growing, harvesting, selling horticultural crops for many hundreds of years and have had a significant influence on the development of horticultural practices across Western civilization. Modern-day greenhouse or glasshouse, used across the world, can trace its roots back to early controlled growing structures in France.

There are more commercial or retail horticultural firms than there are wholesale firms in France (26,000 commercial firms compared to 870 wholesale firms). The vast majority, approximately 71 percent, of land in horticultural production in used for nursery shrubs and trees. For flower and/or foliage plants, there are nearly 50 percent more crops produced in the fields compared to crops produced in controlled structures such as greenhouses, hoop houses, high tunnels, and low tunnels. Location of horticultural production can be found across all of France; however, most are concentrated near the largest population centers of Paris, Marseille, and Lyon.