Secret history

Secret history of France: Auch

Treasure and tragedy in Gascony’s historic capital: In her series revealing the history of France’s cities, art historian Julia Faiers reveals the cultural treasures tucked away in Gers capital, Auch

Secret history of French villages: Village des Bories

True story of the farmers’ stone houses of Bories...This month we explore the real, hard-life history behind the very pastoral stone huts built by peasant farmers in the Vaucluse

French local history: Lourdes

What turned a quiet quarry town into a pilgrims’ hotspot: The Connexion reveals how five words changed the history of Lourdes

French local history – October 2019

The last earthly remains of villages that died for France - The Connexion recounts the history of nine Meuse villages that were destroyed in the First World War, but live on in French memory

Secret history of France's cities: Rouen

In the first of a series revealing the hidden histories of France’s cities, art historian and medievalist Julia Faiers turns the spotlight on Rouen in Normandy

Secret history of French villages - June 2019

The remarkable story of Turenne, in the Corrèze, which was an independent fiefdom for more than 750 years

Secret history of French villages - May 2019

The carpenter’s tales that laid open village’s secrets - or what a 19th-century artisan’s diaries, hidden under the floor of a Hautes-Alpes château, said about rural life

Secret history of French villages - April 2019

The ancient monastery that turned into a village: a look at the long religious history of the tiny Loire commune that was born shortly after the Revolution

Secret history of French buildings - November 2018

From Huguenots to Jews, the village of Chambon-sur-Lignon has a centuries-old record of aiding the oppressed, writes Jane Hanks

Secret history of French villages: Rocamadour

Miracles and swords bring a million visitors... Jane Hanks is a regular visitor to Rocamadour herself but each time the perched village yields ever more secrets from its rich history