Sancerre voted France’s favourite village of 2021

The Cher village fought off tough competition from 13 other communes to win the coveted title

Sancerre, a village of 1,400 residents in France’s Cher department, has been crowned the latest winner of the popular French television show Le Village Préféré des Français (France’s Favourite Village).

The long-running programme, broadcast on France 3, allows viewers to vote for their favourite French village from a shortlist of fourteen suitable candidates from across the country. The victory was announced by host Stéphane Bern on 30 June.

Sancerre, famous for its wine and Crottin de Chavignol cheese, will hope to see a boost in tourists thanks to its exciting new accolade. Last year’s winner, Hunspach in the Bas-Rhin department, saw its visitor numbers shoot up from 6,000 to 40,000 a year despite the pandemic.

Coming in second place in the rankings was Fresnay-sur-Sarthe in Pays de la Loire, followed by Hérisson in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in third. Some 600,000 votes were cast during this year’s competition.

If you are in France, you can watch the full programme here. And below you can see the electric atmosphere in the village as they eagerly awaited the results!

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