I have decided to split the next country into three, since it appears to be slightly longer than I thought. I have almost completed the entire country, but I will let you analyse it for yourselves for now - the 'trend' within this country will become more apparent when I have shown the map, as it isn't immediately obvious where each of these are located. I will say however that in the course of doing this I did find out about several nice little collections I didn't know of before.
As a side note, I noticed a mistake in ZTL - Graested is not the only holder of Subtropical cacique in Europe, Montpellier still has them, I saw them last summer.
However, onto le Pays des Baguettes
:
France
Aquarium des Tropiques, Allex
A fairly small collection with not very many tanks, but a good number of rarities for its size, all fish as you would imagine.
Fish: Barred splitfin, Black-winged hatchetfish, Blue Victoria mouthbrooder, Burton's mouthbrooder, Clown killi, Coatzacoalcos cichlid, Fenestratus cichlid, Hogaboom's cichlid, Lyretail panchax, Redtail nothobranch, Rock kribensis, Shortnose gar.
Zoo D'Amiens
A decent zoo, with a nice Asian complex, a few nice enclosures and a couple of rarities.
Birds: Collared lory, Dark-bellied brent goose, Indian red-bellied red magpie.
Reptiles: Green crested lizard, Three-banded geckolet.
Zoo d'Amnéville
A fairly large zoo in the context of France, Amnéville is nonetheless punctured with poor exhibits and at times overdone theming. It also sticks to ABCs, with only a few rarities. It had its EAZA membership stripped when it refused to close down its tiger show, which still happens goes on to this day. So all in all, a zoo that has a fairly patchy record with the public and enthusiasts alike.
Mammals: Syrian rock hyrax
Birds: Colombian green military macaw, Yellow-cheeked tit.
Reptiles: Bocourt's mud turtle, Cook's tree boa, Striped mud turtle.
Aquarium d'Amnéville
The much less (in)famous collection in Amnéville, the aquarium actually has more rarities. Nevertheless, I would probably still say the zoo is more worth visiting.
Fish: Arabian picassofish, Black piranha, Blackspot piranha, Blue velvet angelfish, Broomtail wrasse, Hawaiian butterflyfish, Longnose surgeonfish, Masked puffer, Redback sand tilefish, River stingray (Mantilla ray), Rivulated parrotfish, Titan triggerfish, Vermiculate river stingray, Violet squirrelfish, Weedy scorpionfish (aphaeus).
Marineland Antibes
One of the (very) few remaining SeaWorld-type collections in Europe, Marineland Antibes is one of only three collections on the continent with orcas, but are, as is the case with virtually every collection holding cetaceans, under pressure to stop holding them. Other than the main attraction, Marineland has a few other species, but is not terribly special.
Mammals: Orca, Steller's sea lion
Birds: Western rockhopper penguin
Fish: Bartlett's anthias, Blubberlip snapper, Cuban basslet, Five-banded butterflyfish, Javanese cownose ray, Leopard whipray, Lubbock's wrasse.
Parc Animalier d'Auvergne - Greater mouse-eared bat, Lesser horseshoe, Transcapian urial.
Parc Animalier des Pyrenées
Actually a really interesting collection. Formerly holding a great collection of South American passerines, but still retaining some of its former collection in that field, with caciques, oropendolas and jays. However, the park is also great for European mountain fauna, with a walk-through caprid exhibit and multitude of other odd ideas. I thoroughly recommend the place.
Mammals: Pyrenean chamois, Pyrenean red squirrel
Birds: Common tern, Crested oropendola, Great crested grebe, Plush-crested jay, Yellow-rumped cacique.
Parc de l'Auxois, Arnay-sous-Vitteaux - Baird's rat snake.
Zoo d'Asson
Again in the Pyrenees, this place has a few nice species that you wouldn't expect to find here, a bit like its nearby counterpart.
Mammals: Philippine porcupine, Plantain squirrel, Southern African spiny mouse, Western blue duiker.
Donjon des Aigles, Beaucens - Augur buzzard, Wedge-tailed eagle.
Alligator Bay, Beauvoir - Black-headed royal snake, Bocourt's mud snake, Ethiopian mountain adder, Moroccan ocellated lizard, Olive python.
Zoo Citadelle de Besancon
One of the zoos of France with the most character, entirely set in a medieval citadel setting. Holds some intriguing small mammal species along with a fairly large ABC collection.
Mammals: Common hamster, Common red-backed vole, Crowned sifaka, Francois' leaf monkey, Greater bamboo lemur, Mound-building mouse, Yellow-necked field mouse.
Fish: Rhone streber.
Aquarium de Biarritz - Goldentail moray, Scalloped hammerhead, Streaked gurnard, Striated frogfish.
Nausicaa
An interesting, half-modern, half-old aquarium, with notably the only giant manta rays in Europe. Other than that massive rarity, lots of other fish rarities.
Reptiles: Lowland corn snake, Pasteur's day gecko.
Fish: Bicolor cleaner wrasse, Blotched fantail, Blue and gold fusilier, Blue jack mackerel, Boomerang triggerfish, Brick soldierfish, California sheephead, Dory snapper, European pilchard, False herring, False eye speroides, Filament-finned prawn goby, Giant manta ray, Greenbanded goby, Humpback unicornfish, Lori's anthias, Segmented blenny, Speckled blue grouper, West Atlantic devil ray, Western wobbegong, Wide-banded hardyhead silverside.
In summary, 23 rarities, of which 7 are unique in Europe and a further 7 are only found in couple of the continent's collections.
Océanopolis Brest
Another large aquarium, this time in Brittany. The place hold a number of Arctic seal species, making it a must if that is your thing, but also an impressive number of fish rarities.
Mammals: Alaskan sea otter, Arctic ringed seal, Bearded seal.
Birds: Western rockhopper penguin.
Fish: Blackfin snapper, Bluespotted angelfish, Bluestriped angelfish, Caribbean sharpnose puffer, East Atlantic red gurnard, Flagtail shrimpgoby, Golden sweeper, Freshwater sawfish, Hawaiian butterflyfish, Japanese bullhead shark, Leopard whipray, Lesser weever, Moroccan white seabream, Orange-dotted tuskfish, Pacific lumpsucker, Pilotfish, Rainford's butterflyfish, Redtail parrotfish, Ruby cardinalfish, Shoulderbar soldierfish, Speckled blue grouper, Spinefin goby, Spotted-gill cardinalfish, Streaked gurnard, Tawny nurse shark, Yellow-edged lyretail, Yellowbelly hamlet, Yellowtail tubelip.
In summary, 32 rarities, of which 10 are unique in Europe and a further 6 are only found in a couple of the continent's institutions.
Ferme exotique, Cadaujac - Finlayson's squirrel, Mallee ringneck.
Aquarium du Cap d'Agde - Greyface moray
Village des Tortues, Carnoules - Forest hingeback tortoise
Parc Animalier Casteil - Pyrenean chamois
Parc de Clères
An interesting place in that its focal point is a chateau, surrounded by free-ranging flamingos and other birds, along with an excellent dove collection in particular.
Birds: Bar-shouldered dove, Bare-faced ground dove, Blue-headed wood-dove, Brown-capped emerald dove, Brush bronzewing, Grand eclectus parrot, Greater Brazilian teal, Greater upland goose, Greenland white-fronted goose, Scarlet-headed blackbird, Yellow-naped parrot (NS).
In summary, 11 species, of which 1 is unique in Europe and another 1 is only found in a couple of the continent's collections.
Marinarium de Concarneau - Giant goby, Rusty blenny, Shore clingfish, Sand sole.
Parc Animalier de Courzieu - Upland buzzard
Parrot World - Belize yellow-headed amazon, Hispaniolan amazon, Picazuro pigeon, Yellow-naped amazon (NS).
Le Pal - White-collared brown lemur, Chimango caracara.
Bioparc Doué la Fontaine
Pretty definitively the most interesting zoo in France, Doué has a few massive rarities but not much beyond that. They are primarily a bird and mammal park, with not much depth beyond that in terms of collection. However, the collection is thoroughly bolstered by some of the most spectacular exhibits in Europe, but also some of the oddest exhibits mixed in with them. The two stand-out gems are the South American and Okapi aviaries, both holding a multitude of species of different classes under massive canopies of mesh. The biggest rarities at Doue are however their Peruvian and Brown pelicans along with a Javan leopard.
Mammals: Red-faced black spider monkey, Hamlyn's monkey, Javan leopard.
Birds: African green pigeon, Bolivian green military macaw, Eastern brown pelican, Goliath heron, Peruvian pelican.
Jardin Exotique de Folembray - Tonkean macaque
Zoo de Fréjus - Chestnut-mandibled toucan, Kori bustard, Lesser white-fronted amazon.
CERZA - Eastern ring-tailed vontsira.
Zoo de Jurques - Ornate spider monkey.
A bit like Denmark, France has a large number of collections with 1,2, even 3 rarities. But the number of zoos that exceed 15 rarities is disappointingly low - not even a single one in this first third. Their zoos are good in general, but not good enough to be standalone attractions (other than a few exceptions), meaning they are trying to generate profit off the back of nearby tourist attractions more often than not, and therefore cannot afford to house rarities of any sort.
Aquaria on the other hand are a different matter, and the only aspect in which France outdoes Czechia or Germany for example. Several large aquariums are peppered along the coast and in the large cities, which is immediately apparent when one puts them in a different colour to zoos on the map, as I will when I post it in due course.
It is certainly an odd creature, a country filled with decent zoos but without enough local visitation and the interest to justify bringing in rarities. But the odd thing is that a few hundred years ago, French zoologists were bringing rarities back to the country at a prolific rate - the likes of Cuvier, Lacépède, Grandidier, Lamarck, Milne-Edwards, the list goes on. La Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes held one of the most impressive collections on the planet, with Le Musée d'Histoire Naturelle holding a vast array of taxidermies from all over the planet.
However, it has not lasted. France, particularly the South-Western area of the country, follows a similar pattern to countries like Italy, Spain and Greece - that of having sparsely-sprinkled zoos across the country, but only as the side-show - never as the main attraction as is the case in countries like Czechia or even Germany to an extent. And while I'd say the quality of the exhibits for the inhabitants of French zoos is better than the Southern European countries mentioned above, they have taken similar paths.
Could it be to do with the people's attitude towards zoos? Or the lack of demand for zoos in places where there is enough tourism? Or perhaps there are so many attractions in places like Paris that zoos are less frequented than they otherwise would be? Who knows.
Anyway, apologies for that lengthy reflection, next two posts will again be more of teh same from France, and then onto Europe's zoo juggernaut - Germany.
As a side note, I noticed a mistake in ZTL - Graested is not the only holder of Subtropical cacique in Europe, Montpellier still has them, I saw them last summer.
However, onto le Pays des Baguettes
:France
Aquarium des Tropiques, Allex
A fairly small collection with not very many tanks, but a good number of rarities for its size, all fish as you would imagine.
Fish: Barred splitfin, Black-winged hatchetfish, Blue Victoria mouthbrooder, Burton's mouthbrooder, Clown killi, Coatzacoalcos cichlid, Fenestratus cichlid, Hogaboom's cichlid, Lyretail panchax, Redtail nothobranch, Rock kribensis, Shortnose gar.
Zoo D'Amiens
A decent zoo, with a nice Asian complex, a few nice enclosures and a couple of rarities.
Birds: Collared lory, Dark-bellied brent goose, Indian red-bellied red magpie.
Reptiles: Green crested lizard, Three-banded geckolet.
Zoo d'Amnéville
A fairly large zoo in the context of France, Amnéville is nonetheless punctured with poor exhibits and at times overdone theming. It also sticks to ABCs, with only a few rarities. It had its EAZA membership stripped when it refused to close down its tiger show, which still happens goes on to this day. So all in all, a zoo that has a fairly patchy record with the public and enthusiasts alike.
Mammals: Syrian rock hyrax
Birds: Colombian green military macaw, Yellow-cheeked tit.
Reptiles: Bocourt's mud turtle, Cook's tree boa, Striped mud turtle.
Aquarium d'Amnéville
The much less (in)famous collection in Amnéville, the aquarium actually has more rarities. Nevertheless, I would probably still say the zoo is more worth visiting.
Fish: Arabian picassofish, Black piranha, Blackspot piranha, Blue velvet angelfish, Broomtail wrasse, Hawaiian butterflyfish, Longnose surgeonfish, Masked puffer, Redback sand tilefish, River stingray (Mantilla ray), Rivulated parrotfish, Titan triggerfish, Vermiculate river stingray, Violet squirrelfish, Weedy scorpionfish (aphaeus).
Marineland Antibes
One of the (very) few remaining SeaWorld-type collections in Europe, Marineland Antibes is one of only three collections on the continent with orcas, but are, as is the case with virtually every collection holding cetaceans, under pressure to stop holding them. Other than the main attraction, Marineland has a few other species, but is not terribly special.
Mammals: Orca, Steller's sea lion
Birds: Western rockhopper penguin
Fish: Bartlett's anthias, Blubberlip snapper, Cuban basslet, Five-banded butterflyfish, Javanese cownose ray, Leopard whipray, Lubbock's wrasse.
Parc Animalier d'Auvergne - Greater mouse-eared bat, Lesser horseshoe, Transcapian urial.
Parc Animalier des Pyrenées
Actually a really interesting collection. Formerly holding a great collection of South American passerines, but still retaining some of its former collection in that field, with caciques, oropendolas and jays. However, the park is also great for European mountain fauna, with a walk-through caprid exhibit and multitude of other odd ideas. I thoroughly recommend the place.
Mammals: Pyrenean chamois, Pyrenean red squirrel
Birds: Common tern, Crested oropendola, Great crested grebe, Plush-crested jay, Yellow-rumped cacique.
Parc de l'Auxois, Arnay-sous-Vitteaux - Baird's rat snake.
Zoo d'Asson
Again in the Pyrenees, this place has a few nice species that you wouldn't expect to find here, a bit like its nearby counterpart.
Mammals: Philippine porcupine, Plantain squirrel, Southern African spiny mouse, Western blue duiker.
Donjon des Aigles, Beaucens - Augur buzzard, Wedge-tailed eagle.
Alligator Bay, Beauvoir - Black-headed royal snake, Bocourt's mud snake, Ethiopian mountain adder, Moroccan ocellated lizard, Olive python.
Zoo Citadelle de Besancon
One of the zoos of France with the most character, entirely set in a medieval citadel setting. Holds some intriguing small mammal species along with a fairly large ABC collection.
Mammals: Common hamster, Common red-backed vole, Crowned sifaka, Francois' leaf monkey, Greater bamboo lemur, Mound-building mouse, Yellow-necked field mouse.
Fish: Rhone streber.
Aquarium de Biarritz - Goldentail moray, Scalloped hammerhead, Streaked gurnard, Striated frogfish.
Nausicaa
An interesting, half-modern, half-old aquarium, with notably the only giant manta rays in Europe. Other than that massive rarity, lots of other fish rarities.
Reptiles: Lowland corn snake, Pasteur's day gecko.
Fish: Bicolor cleaner wrasse, Blotched fantail, Blue and gold fusilier, Blue jack mackerel, Boomerang triggerfish, Brick soldierfish, California sheephead, Dory snapper, European pilchard, False herring, False eye speroides, Filament-finned prawn goby, Giant manta ray, Greenbanded goby, Humpback unicornfish, Lori's anthias, Segmented blenny, Speckled blue grouper, West Atlantic devil ray, Western wobbegong, Wide-banded hardyhead silverside.
In summary, 23 rarities, of which 7 are unique in Europe and a further 7 are only found in couple of the continent's collections.
Océanopolis Brest
Another large aquarium, this time in Brittany. The place hold a number of Arctic seal species, making it a must if that is your thing, but also an impressive number of fish rarities.
Mammals: Alaskan sea otter, Arctic ringed seal, Bearded seal.
Birds: Western rockhopper penguin.
Fish: Blackfin snapper, Bluespotted angelfish, Bluestriped angelfish, Caribbean sharpnose puffer, East Atlantic red gurnard, Flagtail shrimpgoby, Golden sweeper, Freshwater sawfish, Hawaiian butterflyfish, Japanese bullhead shark, Leopard whipray, Lesser weever, Moroccan white seabream, Orange-dotted tuskfish, Pacific lumpsucker, Pilotfish, Rainford's butterflyfish, Redtail parrotfish, Ruby cardinalfish, Shoulderbar soldierfish, Speckled blue grouper, Spinefin goby, Spotted-gill cardinalfish, Streaked gurnard, Tawny nurse shark, Yellow-edged lyretail, Yellowbelly hamlet, Yellowtail tubelip.
In summary, 32 rarities, of which 10 are unique in Europe and a further 6 are only found in a couple of the continent's institutions.
Ferme exotique, Cadaujac - Finlayson's squirrel, Mallee ringneck.
Aquarium du Cap d'Agde - Greyface moray
Village des Tortues, Carnoules - Forest hingeback tortoise
Parc Animalier Casteil - Pyrenean chamois
Parc de Clères
An interesting place in that its focal point is a chateau, surrounded by free-ranging flamingos and other birds, along with an excellent dove collection in particular.
Birds: Bar-shouldered dove, Bare-faced ground dove, Blue-headed wood-dove, Brown-capped emerald dove, Brush bronzewing, Grand eclectus parrot, Greater Brazilian teal, Greater upland goose, Greenland white-fronted goose, Scarlet-headed blackbird, Yellow-naped parrot (NS).
In summary, 11 species, of which 1 is unique in Europe and another 1 is only found in a couple of the continent's collections.
Marinarium de Concarneau - Giant goby, Rusty blenny, Shore clingfish, Sand sole.
Parc Animalier de Courzieu - Upland buzzard
Parrot World - Belize yellow-headed amazon, Hispaniolan amazon, Picazuro pigeon, Yellow-naped amazon (NS).
Le Pal - White-collared brown lemur, Chimango caracara.
Bioparc Doué la Fontaine
Pretty definitively the most interesting zoo in France, Doué has a few massive rarities but not much beyond that. They are primarily a bird and mammal park, with not much depth beyond that in terms of collection. However, the collection is thoroughly bolstered by some of the most spectacular exhibits in Europe, but also some of the oddest exhibits mixed in with them. The two stand-out gems are the South American and Okapi aviaries, both holding a multitude of species of different classes under massive canopies of mesh. The biggest rarities at Doue are however their Peruvian and Brown pelicans along with a Javan leopard.
Mammals: Red-faced black spider monkey, Hamlyn's monkey, Javan leopard.
Birds: African green pigeon, Bolivian green military macaw, Eastern brown pelican, Goliath heron, Peruvian pelican.
Jardin Exotique de Folembray - Tonkean macaque
Zoo de Fréjus - Chestnut-mandibled toucan, Kori bustard, Lesser white-fronted amazon.
CERZA - Eastern ring-tailed vontsira.
Zoo de Jurques - Ornate spider monkey.
A bit like Denmark, France has a large number of collections with 1,2, even 3 rarities. But the number of zoos that exceed 15 rarities is disappointingly low - not even a single one in this first third. Their zoos are good in general, but not good enough to be standalone attractions (other than a few exceptions), meaning they are trying to generate profit off the back of nearby tourist attractions more often than not, and therefore cannot afford to house rarities of any sort.
Aquaria on the other hand are a different matter, and the only aspect in which France outdoes Czechia or Germany for example. Several large aquariums are peppered along the coast and in the large cities, which is immediately apparent when one puts them in a different colour to zoos on the map, as I will when I post it in due course.
It is certainly an odd creature, a country filled with decent zoos but without enough local visitation and the interest to justify bringing in rarities. But the odd thing is that a few hundred years ago, French zoologists were bringing rarities back to the country at a prolific rate - the likes of Cuvier, Lacépède, Grandidier, Lamarck, Milne-Edwards, the list goes on. La Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes held one of the most impressive collections on the planet, with Le Musée d'Histoire Naturelle holding a vast array of taxidermies from all over the planet.
However, it has not lasted. France, particularly the South-Western area of the country, follows a similar pattern to countries like Italy, Spain and Greece - that of having sparsely-sprinkled zoos across the country, but only as the side-show - never as the main attraction as is the case in countries like Czechia or even Germany to an extent. And while I'd say the quality of the exhibits for the inhabitants of French zoos is better than the Southern European countries mentioned above, they have taken similar paths.
Could it be to do with the people's attitude towards zoos? Or the lack of demand for zoos in places where there is enough tourism? Or perhaps there are so many attractions in places like Paris that zoos are less frequented than they otherwise would be? Who knows.
Anyway, apologies for that lengthy reflection, next two posts will again be more of teh same from France, and then onto Europe's zoo juggernaut - Germany.
You did (and doing now) an incredible work 
. 
