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25 Grand Frais stores to open in France as American investors prepare to purchase chain
Expansion would mean 3,000 new jobs
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France’s end-of-year tips: how much to give firefighters, cleaners, and waste collectors
Informal tips known as ‘étrennes’ are widespread practice
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‘A legend of the century’, ‘incredibly French’: tributes paid to Brigitte Bardot
The former actress and animal rights activist died on December 28 at the age of 91
New regions are finally all settled
France now officially has 12 regions – down from 21 at the start of the year - and the names of the 12 have been finalised.
Bretagne, Ile-de-france, Pays-de-la-Loire and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur stay as they are while Centre-Val de Loire only changes its name.
Other regions are:
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (based in Lyon);
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, (Dijon);
Hauts-de-France made of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardie (Lille);
Grand Est made of Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine (Strasbourg);
Occitanie from Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées (Toulouse);
Normandie joins Haute and Basse Normandie (prefecture in Rouen and council HQ in Caen);
Nouvelle Aquitaine made from Aquitaine, Limousin and Poitou- Charentes (Bordeaux).
Often called a region, Corsica now has a separate status as a “collectivité territoriale”.
