Shopping local: France's AMAP farm basket scheme explained Each month, we take a selection of reader questions and answer them. One of July's questions is about France's AMAP scheme and whether it is good value.
Entrepreneur steps up to save his village鈥檚 shops in France Claude Bellessort is being hailed as a Father Christmas figure after saving his village cafe, boulangerie and hairdressing salon from closure in Centre-Val de Loire
Green is buzzword for France鈥檚 local elections Green issues have taken centre stage in this month鈥檚 local elections in France 鈥� including for the mayor of Paris.
news Group calls for 鈥�1,000 village caf茅s鈥� to revive France A social and environmental enterprise is calling on 32,000 communes across France to create or re-open 1,000 rural 鈥渧illage caf茅s鈥�, in a bid to revive the sense of community in small towns.
Proven莽al town signs saved after locals fight back What's in a name? Enough to spark a war of words between mayors and a departmental council over whether they can continue using old Proven莽al names on road signs.
Secret history of French villages - May 2019 The carpenter鈥檚 tales that laid open village鈥檚 secrets - or what a 19th-century artisan鈥檚 diaries, hidden under the floor of a Hautes-Alpes ch芒teau, said about rural life
Local speciality: Vend茅e mogette Why not make a grill茅e de mogette - essentially a fancy version of beans on toast!
Meet the producers: green rice Its nutty taste, vanilla and quinoa flavours makes it a far better ingredient than the bland white rice we are used to
When the countryside comes to town Jane Hanks talks to the woman in charge of the huge agricultural show in Paris and finds out what it means to small producers who attend
Faded signs are today's loss Fading signs on village and town walls remind us private businesses do not have to sacrifice beauty and harmony to make sales
