Which city is best in France for dog owners?
Annual study ranks areas on factors including green spaces and pro-pet policies
Cities with lots of green space ranked highly
Daria Shvetcova/Shutterstock
Grenoble has been ranked the best city for dog owners in France in a recent study by an animal rights charity and foundation, 30 millions d’amis.
The city in Isère received the ranking due in part to a large number of green spaces – including several off-lead zones for dogs in parks – as well as its cleanliness and dog-friendly attitudes.
It replaced Lille (Nord) in the top spot after three consecutive years.
“It is a great honour to receive this first prize, and even more so because it is the very first time that the city of Grenoble has appeared in the top of these rankings; we are deeply touched,” said a representative of Grenoble’s deputy mayor following the announcement.
Grenoble has made a concerted effort since 2020 “to integrate and respect animals in our public policies.”
While the study remains focused mostly on dogs, this year was expanded to include all pets.
Paris, Nice, Amiens rank high
Grenoble was crowned as part of the 11th edition of the ‘Palmarès des villes où il fait bon vivre avec les animaux’ (towns good for pet owners) by 30 millions d’amis.
The ranking covers most cities and towns in France which have a population of 100,000 or more.
Cities are ranked out of 20 on several factors, including:
Green spaces and dog-parks
Transportation rules for pet owners
Cleanliness
Pro-pet city projects
Stray cat populations and efforts to ethically reduce their numbers
Scores are then tallied to give an average score out of 20, with Grenoble receiving an overall 18.9/20.
The other top five members comprised Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine, 16.6/20), Lille (Nord, 16.4/20), Nice (Alpes-Maritimes, 15.3/20) and Amiens (Somme, 15.1/20)
Capital Paris was ranked 8th, with Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and Nîmes (Gard) climbing around ten places overall.
The full rankings are available on the 30 millions d’amis website here.
Note that for some cities information was not available / local authorities did not respond to information requests, seeing lower average scores.
Animal welfare increasingly important
The foundation points towards a slew of positive results in this year’s rankings.
The ranking “reveals the growing importance of animal welfare, which is increasingly being addressed by French cities. This trend was already evident on the eve of the municipal elections, where animal welfare emerged as a civic and electoral issue,” it said.
“Accessibility to public spaces is improving, cleanliness measures are becoming more widespread, awareness campaigns are being structured, and solidarity policies are expanding.”
A poll by the foundation, carried out in conjunction with statistics body IFOP, shows that 58% of people in France believe improving animal welfare is an important or even priority issue for local authorities..
“Public decision-makers must, more than ever, take into account the ever-growing convictions of public opinion regarding animal welfare.”
