News, numbers and notes from in-between France
June 2025 edition
I’m excited to be rolling out a new feature, one that has been simmering away in my brain for quite a while. Said brain being about to explode like an ineptly used pressure cooker, it’s time to reveal what this new addition, reserved for my special supporters, will be all about.
And please participate in the polls! I love them dearly and hope you will too.
Brèves
Much is made of France’s idyllic food markets, but La Dépêche reports that vendors in Albi, Tarn, Occitanie are complaining of increasing theft.1 The biggest culprits snatching zucchini right off the stand? Senior citizens.
In February, I visited Hyères, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. I was smitten with the Villa Noailles and its iconic Robert Mallet-Stevens architecture. Plus, admission was free! That party’s surely over, though, as its director is embroiled in a financial mismanagement scandal that has made national news. 2
The French do love breaking records for obscenely large food items. The world’s biggest strawberry tart was just created in Plougastel-Daoulas, Finistère, Bretagne.3 It measured nearly 50 square meters, which is bigger than my kitchen and living room combined. For some reason, this apartment-sized tart doesn’t appeal to me. What about you?
All About Aveyron
I don’t write much about my home area, Aveyron. The truth is, the idea makes me nervous given the public nature of Substack and the honesty I bring to my reflections. But this section will remain among friends.
Where the heck is Aveyron anyway?
I know some of you won’t need this, but if you do, voilà!
More southern Occitans have been known to call our dear department “le Grand Nord”, which insanely and inexplicably got me imagining that it was somehow more centrally located.
My ultimate plan being to get to towns all over France, it took staring glumly at a Michelin map for me to truly fathom how terribly far south Aveyron actually is.
On my radar
Readers tell me that I’m giving them ideas for towns to visit. Yay to that — because this is exactly what I want to do.
Celebrating 100 years of Art Déco in Saint-Quentin
2025 marks the official hundredth anniversary of the Art Deco movement, which is being celebrated in museums and galleries all over the world.
Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, population 53,000 Saint-Quentinois and Saint Quentinoises, is one of France’s richest cities in Art Déco architecture, with over 300 buildings and façades.
I popped in for an afternoon once, saw 11, and can’t wait to get back.
Artsy
As I visit more French towns, it’s the museums that strike me the most. This section seems particularly timely as employees at the Louvre, overwhelmed, understaffed, and exhausted, just held an impromptu strike. In the meantime, great things are happening outside of the big cities:
On June 4th, Carcassonne, Occitanie, population 47,854, inaugurated a center for contemporary art in the former Banque de France building 4
On June 10th, the city of Rochefort, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, population 23,188, reopened the fabulous house museum of French writer Pierre Loti5 (It’s worth going to the footnote to get some photos.)
Exciting small-town exhibits are legion, especially in the summer. If you’re headed down south, I can recommend “Rendre Visible”, featuring Paul Klee and Hans Reichel in little old Lodève, Occitanie, population 7,202. Here’s a favorite by Hans Reichel, an artist I knew nothing of.
Geek to geek
I love me a nice statistic now and then, and when I stumble onto some ranking of anything France-related, that’s always fun to ponder too.
Stats to share
74% of French people plan to stay in France this summer6 This high percentage of domestic tourists fuels the French tourism industry in a big way; in fact, only 30% of tourists to France come from abroad. 7
66% of French people buy books in small bookshops, down from 73% in 20238 — and yes, the independent bookshops are suffering.
Between April 2024 and April 2025, sales of wine dropped by 4.2% in French supermarkets. Sounds minor? That represents 35 million bottles, 9 and yes, the wine industry is suffering too.
A fun ranking
I’m no fan of Le Journal de Dimanche, but every year it publishes a much-awaited list of the best French towns to live in. Here are the current top 5 in the “towns and cities” category: 10
1. Biarritz, Nouvelle‑Aquitaine, population 25,345
2. Angers, Pays de la Loire, population 158,792
3. Annecy, Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes, population 131,272
4. Bayonne, Nouvelle‑Aquitaine, population 59,605
5. Rodez, AVEYRON !!!, Occitanie, population 24,354
Obviously, this ranking is to be taken with a grain of salt, but everyone was sure crowing about that number 5 ranking in these parts.
A final poll!
I hope you enjoyed this first issue of “NNN from in-between France.” Hoping Assuming at least one part caught you attention, I’d love to know which section you enjoyed the most:
And, as always, comments are most appreciated.
A la prochaine ville moyenne,
Betty Carlson
La Villa Noailles s’engage dans un plan drastique de désendettement, Le Monde, June 13th 2025
Avec 49,49 m², la plus grande tarte aux fraises du monde est bretonne ! Ouest-France, June 8th 2025
"Un lieu qui deviendra emblématique", à Carcassonne le centre d’art inauguré avec plus de 60 artistes exposés -L’Indépendant, June 5, 2025
Tendance voyages : 74 % des Français prévoient de rester en France cet été, la Bretagne plébiscitée (Ouest France, May 19th, 2025)
Deux tiers des Français achètent des livres en librairies, ils étaient 73 % en 2023 Le Figaro, April 24, 2025
Les nouvelles préférences des Français : cap sur le vin blanc Actu-Retail, June 10, 2025
EXCLUSIF - Découvrez le Top 500 des villes où il fait bon vivre en France en 2025 , Le Journal du Dimanche, February 16, 2025
I actually enjoyed a lot of the sections Betty but the poll only allowed me to pick one. Great idea. 👍😅
Bonjour Betty! I love that fact: “74% of French people plan to stay in France this summer.” It really shows how much domestic tourism fuels the French travel industry — and I can definitely relate!
As a child, we always spent our summer holidays in France, whether in the Alps or along the Mediterranean. I suppose France is so vast and varied that you feel “dépaysé” each time, even without crossing the border!