Crown thinning, also known as the "French" method, removes trees from the middle and upper crown classes. By removing overstory trees (but not all of them!), gaps are created that allow light to penetrate to the lower crown classes. Space is also freed for the growth of promising trees in the middle canopy.

Trees are selected for cutting that are crowding out straighter boled codominant trees or are merely competing side-by-side with other trees. Selection is based on health and growth potential, with healthy and higher potential trees left uncut.

Understory trees that are diseased or will not be of value later on are usually removed as well for convenience. Advantages of crown thinning include higher value of removed trees and faster growth of remaining trees as compared to a low thinning. This type of cutting demands a skilled forester.

The average DBH will not change much after cutting, nor will the average height change very much. Only the basal area and number of trees will go down to any degree.