The Eurocrats should take heed. A village in southern France has decided to bring back the franc as legal tender in an experiment that it hopes will be followed elsewhere.

Collobrières, a village of 1,600 inhabitants in Provence, is motivated largely by profit: accepting the franc has boosted their business. “It’s amazing how many francs people have kept at home,” said Dominique Cardi, a gift shop owner. “Now they can spend them.”

There is also a note of protest, however: nostalgia has grown for the colourful old money depicting French national heroes and its reappearance has warmed the hearts of those who complain that a distant Paris – not to mention Brussels – is out of touch.

“Prices have gone up terribly since the introduction of the euro,” said Cardi, 41, who sells regional specialities such as glazed chestnuts and olive oil. “Of course it’s nice to be able to travel to other countries without having to change money but in other ways things have got worse because of the euro.”

The introduction of the single currency in 2002 was hailed as an advance in integration but France’s subsequent “non” to a European Union constitution was a glimpse of the chasm between politicians and a eurosceptic French public.

Ireland’s rejection of the scaled-down constitution last month has aroused sympathy among the French: according to one poll 53% would have said no to the Lisbon treaty designed to facilitate the organisation of an enlarged 27-member EU.

In Collobrières the return of the franc coincides with widespread scepticism about an ever enlarging Europe.

“How can we get 27 countries to agree with one another?” asked Remy Fages, owner of a restaurant in the village square. “Perhaps in 100 years.”

As he took over the rotating presidency of the EU this month Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, vowed to press ahead with plans for greater integration but the fanfare and summitry, including a “European Bastille Day” tomorrow, do not impress Collobrières.

The village was focused on its own festivals, including one this weekend in which young bulls were being let loose in the streets. For the Fête des Fontaines next month the ornate fountain in the square will be filled with vin rosé rather than water. The highlight is a chestnut festival in the autumn attracting thousands of visitors.

“This year we are expecting more people than ever because of the francs,” said Nathalie Lepeltier, who runs the bakery. It was her idea to bring back the franc and at first people thought she was joking. But the initiative quickly caught on and the village has taken in more than Fr120,000, or about £12,000 at a legally fixed rate of exchange, in three months.

The Bank of France will accept the old franc bills, but not coins, for euros until 2012. Collobrières expects to carry on accepting francs until then.

Lepeltier, president of a local merchants’ association, says she has had calls from other villages inquiring about the scheme and thinks it could spread across France, or even further: visiting German tourists have told her that they would welcome the chance to spend their old D-marks at home.

Collobrières is also popular with the British, who own 45 houses in the village. Cardi says that les rosbifs are too easily taken advantage of by workmen but whatever their faults they are admired for not ditching certain traditions.

“You’re fortunate in Britain that you still have your pound,” said Lepeltier. “We feel a lot of nostalgia for the personalities shown on our old francs. On the euro they have these anonymous images that have nothing to do with France.”

She said that one man came to Collobrières recently after finding Fr20,000 (about £2,000) in an old jacket and another Fr40,000 (£4,000) in a drawer. He spent it all.

When elderly people die, their children often find bundles of banknotes under the mattress, said Sabrina Castell, a 30-year-old shop assistant. “They say that there are millions of francs still out there in people’s homes,” she added.

One woman recently appeared in the village with Fr15,000 (£1,500) that she had kept for the past six years, Castell added: “She was convinced that the euro would not work and that the franc would come back.”

For Christine Amrane, mayor of the village since 2001, the franc has certainly helped to put Collobrières on the map. It has also reminded people of what they lost with the introduction of the single currency: “We lost an identity.”

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