Latest News France: Happy holidays

One quarter of France is forest; seven per cent is protected; over one fifth is hilly or mountainous: if being green is getting back to nature then these statistics alone make France a great destination for environmentally-conscious holiday-makers.

‘In France, eco-responsibility is a tradition and not only an economic phenomenon,’ explains Erica Hutchins from Maison de la France, the French government tourist office. ‘Parts of France remain very rural with untouched and protected landscape and many tour operators are offering ecological holidays.’

Although the current trend is for holidays with a green theme, some tour operators have been offering activity holidays with a low environmental impact in France for years. Susi Madron’s Cycling for Softies has specialised in cycling holidays in France since 1981 and she has always considered her product to be green: ‘We didn’t include a taxi to carry luggage and the majority of our holiday-makers still pack panniers and carry all their clothes on the bike,’ she confirms.

French company, Locaboat Holidays has been offering boating holidays for 31 years in Penichette boats. This registered design has a specially designed hull to minimise wash, which in turn helps to preserve the riverbanks and reduce disturbance to wildlife.

Susan Paradise, whose eponymous villa and holiday home letting company was established in 1992, extends her green ethos to how the business operates internally. ‘We don’t produce a paper brochure and the office itself is green; we renovated an old agricultural building using reclaimed material and it is served by a spring. On top of this, we encourage our clients to shop and eat locally so they contribute to the local economy and highlight little-known events such as local art exhibitions and organic gardens.’

Susan’s clients are starting to catch up with her green ideology: ‘We have noticed more and more of our clients are travelling by train to the south of France and we have many requests for villas where a car isn’t necessary.’

Join the green revolution and head to France.

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