As sugar beet sowings are finishing (at last), the French ministry of agriculture (Agreste) estimates the area sown in France in 2023 at 380,000 ha, down 5.3% compared to 2022 and down 11.8% compared with the 2018-2022 average. The drop is more limited in Hauts-de-France (-5%) and in the Grand-Est (-2%) where sugar beet is one of the most important arable crops. Agreste also forecasts the maize acreage will fall sharply in 2023 compared to 2022, both grain (-7.6%) and seed (-7.4%) and fodder (-4.2%), with grain maize areas estimated at 1.3 million hectares (Mha), the lowest for more than thirty years. However, sunflower areas should progress slightly (+0.8%) and should reach 0.9 Mha, a record since the end of the 1990s. All in all, spring cereal areas should decrease for the second consecutive season, whilst the areas of winter cereals (common wheat, winter barley) have increased, and whilst those of oilseeds and protein crops would also increase.