-
French second-home visa issues raised in House of Lords
British people experience an "expensive and bureaucratic process" to continue living in France
-
More than 5,000 French communes use AI to identify poor rubbish sorting
Badly-sorted rubbish can cost millions so communes are turning to high-tech solutions
-
Measures to increase tax on well-off retirees under consideration for 2026 French budget
‘Nothing is off the table’ when it comes to finding €40 billion in savings says Labour Minister
Nantes' Grand Eléphant back on parade for real thing
Owners of much-loved mechanical attraction hope to raise €15,000 a year to help protect real-live animals

Nantes' famous mechanical Grand Eléphant will play an important role in helping preserve its real-life inspirations as it returns to the city's streets following a three-month €770,000 revamp.
As reported, the Eléphant has been off parade since November 2017. The 48-tonne device has been completely dismantled and cleaned, given new ears - and its 420hp diesel engine replaced with a smaller and more efficient 150hp hybrid petrol and electric one.
Its owners now hope that the newly refurbished creation, part of the city's Jules Verne-inspired Machines de L'ile attraction, will help raise €15,000 a year for Breton-based organisation Des éléphants et des hommes, which works to protect both Asian and African elephants.
The money will go towards the development of a wild elephant over the past century. In neighbouring Burma, there are 11,000 elephants - which the organisation hopes means the downward trend in Laos can be reversed.
According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature, meanwhile, there are an estimated 415,000 African elephants living in the wild. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were between three and five million.
Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France