-
EU looks to increase Etias travel authorisation fee from €7 to €20
Second-home owners and other visitors from the UK and US will need this from autumn 2026
-
What dangerous snakes are in France and what to do if you spot one
Anyone killing a snake risks a fine and potentially a prison sentence
-
Ryanair says flights over France must be protected from air traffic controller strikes
Strikes at start of the month cost airlines over €100 million as budget airline claims workers ‘wanted time off’
Rural France to ring bells for historic WWI Armistice
Rural mairies across France are being invited to ring all the bells in their village at 11h today (Sunday November 11) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1918 First World War Armistice.

Rural mayoral group l’Association des Maires Ruraux de France (AMRF) is inviting all villages to take part in the event, named “#ÀTouteVolée”, meaning the bells will ring “in full force”.
Any buildings with a functioning bell can participate - including bell towers, churches, convents, monasteries, mairies and schools.
The 100th anniversary of the Armistice is today, commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War.
The AMRF has especially invited mairies to involve their local school children in the event, and make it an educational experience. This can also help families to remember any relatives who were involved in the conflict, the AMRF said.
The act of ringing bells is a way to remember the sacrifice of soldiers and civilians who died for France in the years 1914-1918, the AMRF said, as well as those who would later die in the Second World War (1939-1945).
It added: “This is the time to remember - throughout the country - the sense of values shared by the nation for the Republic, and above all, looking towards [its] youth.”
The AMRF brings together and represents mayors in communes with fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, across France - numbering around 10,000 mayors in total.
Created in 1971, it desccribes itself as a cross-party, politically-independent network, and seeks to represent, protect and encourage rural mayoral activities nationwide.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France