[en] The coal markets, which were considered havens of peace, have been turned upside down over the last few months, with unprecedented rises of their international prices, for steam coal as well as for metallic coal. Temporary occurrences (flooding, snowstorms) have played a major role in this price explosion, abruptly reducing the coal supply. But other forces are at work here: the mining industry consolidation which is taking place, the development of the paper market, the chronic under-investment in the coal market at the beginning of the millennium. Can a return to the norm be expected, with price levels that, however, are higher than in the past? This article intends to answer this question through analysing the fundamentals of the coal market. (authors)