Since a few years, there has been a real explosion of geoheritage. Yet the interest in the geological heritage is relatively late, compared to the interest in living heritage in general. This concept of heritage is, in fact, very old, but has long remained marginal. The increase in the number of views on this notion has gone along with a reflection on this meaning and a multiplication of the number of laws to accommodate situations and be able to take into account the diversity of possible cases.In this paper, after a historical review, we propose a synthesis of this notion of geoheritage, as it is currently underway in France. We support our point on specific examples, and especially those that have an echo at the international level: in stratigraphy for example with the list of stages based on French localities, in petrography and mineralogy with the lithotypes or minerals whose name is linked to the territory. Finally, we deal with the legal aspects, which apply to objects, sites, especially with recent developments, because that are these texts and databases that govern the operation and current development of geoheritage.
Geology, history, France, inventory, protection.