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Revealed: This is France’s favourite village in 2020

The votes have been counted. Here is the winner of the title 'France's favourite village' for 2020 and once again it goes to a place in the east of the country.

Published: 2 July 2020 09:37 CEST
Revealed: This is France's favourite village in 2020
Photo: mksfca/Flickr

After months of intense competition, the Alsatian town of Hunspach has claimed the title 'France's favourite village'.

The picturesque little town in the Bas-Rhin département, northeast France, became the third Alsatian village to claim the title of the annual contest.

The participants get rare nationwide exposure through the popular TV show Le Village Préféré des Français (France’s favourite village), aired on France 3.

For viewers, the show is a way to discover some of France's hidden treasures.

For the villages and small towns competing, it's a way to show France what they have to offer.

All the finalists, 14 in total this year, get a visit from France 3 to show off particular cultural traditions, culinary specialties and architecture.

 
 

The list of contenders is carefully selected and must prove that they have rich cultural traditions that make them worthy to take part in the program.

 

Hunspach stands out from the other contenders with its traditional architecture, typical of the Alsace region. Its milky white houses are decorated with black stripes and gardens filled with with pots of geraniums.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alsatians hailed the victory as a reminder of the French people's attachment to the region.
 
 

Those rooting for Hunspach were thrilled by the news. Winning the title is not just an honourable achievement, it is also a way for the local population to boost their tourism industry and local economy. Every year about 2.5 million French watch the show.

 

 

Hunspach was actually elected the winner in March, but the official announcement was made this week. This had nothing to do with the coronavirus health crisis, it was just the set schedule.

Hunspach is apparently a lovely place to be a tourist, with visitors of the praising the inhabitants' friendliness and the Alsatian spirit.

Second place was awarded to Les Anses-d'Arlet in the French overseas territory of Martinique and the third place went to Ménerbes in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur southern region.
 
You can check out all the contenders and what they have to offer here. 
 
 
 

 

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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