https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed There’s a scene in the war film The Great Escape, where Gordon Jackson reacts in English to a polite enquiry and the whole game is up, writes Ian Moore. He’s given himself away, self-incrimination. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210205/opinion-here-in-the-french-countryside-were-a-lot-more-stoic-about-curfew-than-the-city-types Fri, 05 Feb 2021 11:27:34 +0100 opinion-here-in-the-french-countryside-were-a-lot-more-stoic-about-curfew-than-the-city-types An Austrian man who fled the Nazis with his family during World War II has bequeathed a large part of his fortune to the French village whose residents hid them from persecution for years. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210129/french-village-inherits-fortune-from-austrian-who-fled-nazis Fri, 29 Jan 2021 14:58:39 +0100 french-village-inherits-fortune-from-austrian-who-fled-nazis From crowing roosters to the whiff of barnyard animals, the "sensory heritage" of France's countryside will now be protected by law from attempts to stifle the everyday aspects of rural life from newcomers looking for peace and quiet. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210122/france-passes-law-to-give-rural-noises-and-smells-protected-status Fri, 22 Jan 2021 10:17:56 +0100 france-passes-law-to-give-rural-noises-and-smells-protected-status If you are a traditionalist and think French summers consist of a game of pétanque accompanied with pastis swilled with ice you are not going to like this - the game of boules has gone upmarket, writes Chris Bockman. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201209/how-the-french-sport-of-ptanque-is-going-upmarket-and-banning-drinking Wed, 09 Dec 2020 12:35:31 +0100 how-the-french-sport-of-ptanque-is-going-upmarket-and-banning-drinking For many people the dream is to escape the rat race and move to a beautiful and tranquil French village, drink red wine and live happily ever after. But what's moving to the French countryside really like? https://www.thelocal.fr/20201030/ten-things-to-expect-if-you-move-to-rural-france Fri, 30 Oct 2020 17:10:03 +0100 ten-things-to-expect-if-you-move-to-rural-france A tourist who was shot through his car window in south west France is believed to be the victim of a hunting accident, according to local law enforcement. https://www.thelocal.fr/20200921/tourist-shot-by-hunter-while-driving-through-south-west-france Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:24:42 +0200 tourist-shot-by-hunter-while-driving-through-south-west-france It was the end of a five-year legal battle involving the regional authorities and the court of appeal, but on Thursday a McDonald's opened on a small island off the coast of France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191227/mcdonalds-opens-on-french-island-after-five-year-legal-battle Fri, 27 Dec 2019 10:26:56 +0100 mcdonalds-opens-on-french-island-after-five-year-legal-battle Hundreds of tractors have arrived in Paris as part of a coordinated nationwide action by angry French farmers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191127/in-pictures-hundreds-of-tractors-roll-in-to-paris-to-protest-agri-bashing Wed, 27 Nov 2019 11:26:43 +0100 in-pictures-hundreds-of-tractors-roll-in-to-paris-to-protest-agri-bashing French farmers are to stage a major protest on Wednesday - using 1,000 tractors to form rolling roadblocks on roads in the Paris area. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191127/why-1000-tractors-are-heading-for-paris Wed, 27 Nov 2019 09:10:14 +0100 why-1000-tractors-are-heading-for-paris A French court has allowed a group of ducks in the southwest of the country to keep on quacking after complaints from neighbours over their noisy behaviour, at least pending a detailed investigation of noise levels. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191120/noisy-ducks-in-south-west-france-can-keep-on-quacking-court-rules Wed, 20 Nov 2019 11:54:10 +0100 noisy-ducks-in-south-west-france-can-keep-on-quacking-court-rules French film director Luc Besson was taken to court in the northern Normandy region on Monday for refusing to allow hunters onto his land to shoot deer. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191104/french-director-luc-besson-taken-to-court-for-refusing-to-allow-deer-to-be-shot Mon, 04 Nov 2019 15:50:53 +0100 french-director-luc-besson-taken-to-court-for-refusing-to-allow-deer-to-be-shot Internet speed (or the lack of it) is a serious problem for millions of people in France’s more isolated and rural areas. Here are the French departments that are set to get a much faster connection. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191029/the-ten-rural-french-departments-set-to-finally-get-high-speed-internet Tue, 29 Oct 2019 14:33:32 +0100 the-ten-rural-french-departments-set-to-finally-get-high-speed-internet The French countryside might have formed the heartland of the yellow vest anti-government protests but rural or small-town France is still seen as the ideal place to live by most French people. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191024/despite-service-shortages-and-yellow-vest-anger-french-people-still-want-to-move-to-the-country Thu, 24 Oct 2019 11:53:15 +0200 despite-service-shortages-and-yellow-vest-anger-french-people-still-want-to-move-to-the-country French farmers are staging a blockade of the country's major roads in a protest over the 'disregard' of their profession. https://www.thelocal.fr/20191008/french-farmers-to-stage-road-blockades-across-country Tue, 08 Oct 2019 16:45:19 +0200 french-farmers-to-stage-road-blockades-across-country A biodynamic vineyard and its horse is at the heart of a legal conflict in rural France - with neighbours complaining that the animal produces too much manure. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190924/ssame-the-french-horse-is-on-trial-for-producing-too-much-manure Tue, 24 Sep 2019 12:27:59 +0200 ssame-the-french-horse-is-on-trial-for-producing-too-much-manure Hundreds of farmers across France lit "fires of anger" on Monday night to protest their unhappiness about what is happening to their profession. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190924/why-are-french-farmers-lighting-bonfires-across-the-country Tue, 24 Sep 2019 11:12:10 +0200 why-are-french-farmers-lighting-bonfires-across-the-country Paris and four other French cities on Thursday banned the use of synthetic pesticides within their boundaries, as an anti-chemicals movement that began in the countryside gains momentum. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190912/five-french-cities-ban-synthetic-pesticides-as-anti-chemical-movement-grows Thu, 12 Sep 2019 16:22:15 +0200 five-french-cities-ban-synthetic-pesticides-as-anti-chemical-movement-grows A French environmental group which uses the poppy as its symbol is calling for monthly protests in front of town halls across France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190910/why-french-poppy-protests-could-be-taking-place-monthly-in-small-towns Tue, 10 Sep 2019 10:47:35 +0200 why-french-poppy-protests-could-be-taking-place-monthly-in-small-towns A rowdy rooster named Maurice can continue his noisy crowing after a judge rejected a lawsuit filed by unhappy neighbours, the lawyer in the case has announced. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190905/maurice-the-cockerel-to-learn-his-fate-in-row-over-noise-in-rural-france Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:52:06 +0200 maurice-the-cockerel-to-learn-his-fate-in-row-over-noise-in-rural-france Another noisy French animal is gearing up for a court case - this time a gaggle of quacking ducks and geese are ranged against two irate neighbours in south west France. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190903/quacking-ducks-v-neighbours-in-latest-noise-row-from-rural-france Tue, 03 Sep 2019 10:20:36 +0200 quacking-ducks-v-neighbours-in-latest-noise-row-from-rural-france