Rentrée is looming, Schengen’s 90-day rule explained, where France is under water restrictions … and the country’s longest – and shortest – place names
Every summer, parents of school-age children in France are sent a lengthy and complicated list of stationery items that they must purchase for when their offspring head back to classes – Helen Massy-Beresford offers parental tips on navigating the technicalities while also saving money.
Fournitures scolaires: The dreaded French school stationery lists
France’s biodiversity agency has issued a stark warning over what it describes as a “historic and critical” drought affecting the country's rivers, saying conditions are now worse than during the record-breaking drought of 2022. Here are several maps that demonstrate the current situation in the country.
LATEST: Maps of all the water restrictions in place in France
The EU/Schengen area’s ‘90-day’ rule is a complicated one that causes much confusion for travellers. Here we answer some of the most common questions from readers of The Local.
Your key questions answered about the Schengen area’s 90-day rule
Campervans – or motorhomes, if you must – offer the illusion of complete traveller freedom. Set off, go somewhere on a whim, and wherever you park your van that’s your home… for a while. But in France, as elsewhere in Europe, there are rules. Here’s what you need to know.
EXPLAINED: Where in France you can park your campervan
It’s 38 characters long and might take longer to say than to drive through – introducing the tiny Marne village with the longest place-name in the country.
If you’re vaguely wondering where France sits in the table of long place names, it’s resolutely mid-table, dropping in at around sixth. Even the jaw-breaking Welsh village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, at 58 characters and 18 syllables, trails in at second, behind a hill in New Zealand with 85 letters to its name that’s more commonly known as Taumata – and which boasts two other less-used versions that are even longer…
Revealed: The longest place name in France
The huge wildfire in the Bordeaux area burned 42,000 hectares, but did not reach the area's famous vineyards. The smoke, however, was blown over a wide area and at one point almost a quarter of France reported poor air quality linked to smoke.
The most immediate concern is the health effects for the people living in the affected areas, but with vineyard owners preparing to harvest their grapes, there are also fears that the harvest will be tainted.
Factcheck: Will this year’s French wines really taste smokey?
