Louis-René des Forêts (January 28, 1918 – December 31, 2001) was a French writer.
Des Forêts's only novel, The Beggars (Les Mendiants) was published by Éditions Gallimard in 1943.
The rest of his works include shorter narratives, among which his best known work, Le Bavard, and poetry. His work has been commented by authors such as Maurice Blanchot or Yves Bonnefoy.
In 1954, Des Forêts cofounded a committee against the Algerian war, with Dionys Mascolo, Edgar Morin and Robert Antelme. In 1967, he cofounded the literary journal L'Éphémère with writers Yves Bonnefoy, André du Bouchet, Paul Celan, Jacques Dupin, Michel Leiris and others.
Des Forêts received several literary prizes in France and Belgium. He was awarded the Grand prix national des Lettres for the entirety of his work in 1997.
Des Forêts was also a painter.