Can Accueil des Villes Françaises help me make friends in France?

Reader question: I want to spend more time at my French house in the Loire Valley and make French friends. I thought AVF might be able to help but the website was all in French and I did not know where to start. Does it operate in all areas?

AVF – Accueil des Villes Françaises – aims especially to help newcomers settle in, but membership is not limited to those who have only recently moved.

It is a national network of local groups across France, which are also organised at regional level.

Visit the national website and click Le réseau AVF (the AVF network) at the top. Then scroll down to click on your region’s name and you will be directed to contacts for the region, as well as groups in individual towns. It has several groups in Pays de la Loire.

We suggest phoning or emailing for more information, making it clear if your French is limited that you would like to contact an English speaker for more information.

Note also that most internet browsers incorporate options for translating web pages, for example on Google's Chrome, click the three dots on the top right and then scroll down the options to 'translate'. 

AVF groups are run by volunteers, who offer different activities such as apéritifs, picnics and outings, as well as sports, creative workshops, language groups and talks.

They are aimed at French people who have moved within the country as well as foreign people moving to France, which is why you will not necessarily find sites in several languages.

Apart from AVF, a good way to integrate and make friends is to find out generally about associations (clubs) in the area, which can be anything from hiking to yoga, choir, crochet or pétanque.

The mairie’s website should have information on this and some towns have a centre called the maison des associations, which can advise. 

Some areas also have an annual event called forum des associations where different clubs have stands.

If there is a local library/médiathèque, it may have notice boards about local groups and will sometimes host talks, debates or book clubs.

Volunteering is another way to get involved. Contact local charities in sectors such as helping the needy, animals or the environment.

If you have spiritual or religious interests, you could contact a local church or meditation group.

Online, you may find avenues such as a Facebook group for the town or an Instagram page about activities there. There are also websites such as onvasortir.com or meetup.com where local people can offer group outings, walks, etc.