The purpose of the article on protohistoric Central France is to present or to indicate synthetically the results obtained in the study of it iron economy over the last fifteen years. Information comes primarily from field survey programmes (rescue archaeological operations) carried out on iron reduction and smithing sites, and ascribable to periods ranging from 5^th c. to 1^st c. BC. Several sites have produced some remains of furnaces (Bourges, Donnemain, La Bussière). The proto-urban agglomeration of Bourges, which has produced some very large pieces of bloomery waste, reveals a level of production rarely witnessed in the 5^th c. BC. In addition, the importance of the iron-working economy within the societies of central Gaul for more recent periods, is reviewed. Here, the excavations of smithing hearths within sites of various types is considered: open rural settlements (Saint-Romain-sur-Cher) or enclosed examples (enclosures with plentiful evidence of metallurgy in Touraine), open agglomerated settlements (Saumeray) or fortified examples (Bourges and Orléans). This rapid overview demonstrates the potential of future research on iron palaeometallurgy.