Abstract From 1995 to 1999, 69 data were recorded on lynx presence in the French Alps, in an area of 3,636 km². Lynx presence was recorded in the major forested regions of the pré-Alpes (Chablais, Glière/Aravis, Bauges, Chartreuse, Vercors, Diois/Beauchène), in the Chamonix and Maurienne valleys and the Briançon region, but no large continuous area of presence was shown. Lynx have probably been permanently present in certain locations during the past years, but the presence of a large lynx population in the Alps is improbable in the northern French Alps. In the future, we recommend that habitat suitability for lynx in the northern French-Alps should be assessed, together with possibilities of connection between alpine regions and possible bias in the monitoring system.