City in bloom, most beautiful villages in France, small towns of character... You have probably already seen one of these signs at the entrance to a town or village.
Pride of the municipalities in question, these labels have continued to multiply in recent years, now covering almost the entire field of public policy, from environmental protection to town planning, including road safety.
Over the years, the labels, prized by the municipalities and vectors of attractiveness for the territories, have even become a "
very competitive sector
", according to the president of the "
Villes et Villages Fleuris
", Julien Faivre.
“
It's a major challenge
,” he explains: “
Establishing an identifiable label makes it possible to have more visibility, more attractiveness.
Indirectly, it can also allow economic benefits
.
Alain Di Stefano, president of the "
Most beautiful villages of France
" approves: "
All the villages that we label have 30 to 40% more visibility and businesses are recreated in these municipalities, it is revitalizing
".
The labels awarded by juries are therefore guarantees of quality, ensure the representatives: they are real roadmaps for a public policy drawn up according to precise criteria grids and offering follow-up to the labeled municipality.
They allow municipalities to be creative and consider certain uses to evolve in certifications.
These indicators are, however, far from being new: the first of them appeared at the end of the 1950s, with the CNVVF label (National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom).
It will take a few years for others to appear and for the sector to develop in earnest.
“
Small towns of character
”, “
most beautiful villages in France
” or “
Pavillon Bleu
”, thus, were all created between 1970 and 1990.
Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of labels are offered by associations and only a few exceptions are issued by the State and ministries, such as “
Cities and countries of art and history
”.
Elected officials are familiar with the decision-making positions within the offices and juries of these labels.
Thus, 11 of the 21 members of the "
quality council
" of the most beautiful villages in France (being able to decide whether or not to label a municipality) are mayors.
For its part, the CNVVF indicates on its website that "
the Board of Directors is made up of representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, elected representatives of local and regional authorities as well as professionals in horticulture, environment, tourism, landscape and
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Tourism and quality of life
To obtain it, communities can rely on two methods.
First, bring in the jury of the association.
The latter then travels to the municipality to evaluate it, based on a battery of criteria and a reference system.
Then, the town hall must complete administrative files to receive the label.
In some cases, the town hall can also receive a label without doing anything, or even without realizing it:
“When we got our first star in the Michelin green guide, which means that the town is
“
interesting
”
, we were not aware
, says Alain Chrétien, mayor (
Horizons)
of Vesoul.
The jury did not come at our request.
He came himself, did his assessments and we received the label
”.
Municipalities are fond of these labels, which reward their specificities and give them advantages in their territory.
Enough to attract new inhabitants or, at least, visitors.
"
Some are more structuring than others
", nuance Jean-Michel Morer, mayor (
Divers Left
) of Trilport in Seine-et-Marne.
In Trilport as in Vesoul, the story is the same: in the small town of 5,000 inhabitants as in its counterpart made famous by a song by Jacques Brel, labels are at the heart of public policy.
"
There are labels that are useful for attracting tourists, others relate to internal communication for the city
" explains Jean-Michel Morer, mayor (
Various Left
) from Trilport in Seine-et-Marne.
"
The labels must be able to speak to people, that we are not in a technocratic inter-self
," adds Alain Chrétien.
Each municipality has its strategy and its strengths, highlighted by its labels: in Seine-et-Marne, it is recognized that the municipality is not focused on tourism.
The town hall has therefore turned to urban development in order to improve the living environment of its inhabitants.
The city is one of only two in France to be a
"5-sign Digital City
"
, synonymous, among other things, with very good fiber development.
Objective, according to Jean-Michel Morer: "
That it be
'
communicating
'
, and that we have a real frame of reference, a follow-up to have a good development of a digital strategy
".
In Vesoul, "
a city that has everything of a great
" according to its mayor Alain Chrétien, the town plays the card of "
slow tourism
".
This concept highlights proximity by traveling close to home, while respecting the environment.
“There is a small post-containment effect that can be observed: the advantage is that here, everything is done in 5 minutes” he explains.
The town hall is particularly proud of its star in the Michelin green guide: “
Now that we are in the green guide of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, people stop at Vesoul!
We are seeing an increase in visits to our tourist office
”.
If Vesoul and Trilport do not rhyme with mass tourism, in La Baule, the 10.2 million tourist nights recorded in 2022 impose certain requirements on the city.
Unsurprisingly, the tourist issue is essential for this city on the Atlantic coast.
Franck Louvrier, mayor (
Les
Républicains
)
of the town of 16,000 inhabitants in 2019, is particularly proud of his four flowers with the “
Villes et Villages fleuris
” label.
La Baule also has the largest canopy in Europe, that is to say the largest vegetated area.
“Beyond being an environmental label, it is a label that improves the quality of life.
I don't think tourists come to our city for the label, but it confirms their choice to come here
,” says Franck Louvrier.
If his city is already attractive to tourists, the city councilor emphasizes the important role of this classification in attracting even more visitors.