Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of September 2016, it numbers 156 member villages (independent communes or part of a communauté de communes). Membership requires meeting certain selection criteria and offers a strategy for development and promotion to tourists. The three initial selection criteria are the rural nature of the village (a population of less than 2,000 inhabitants), the presence of at least two national heritage sites (sites classés or monuments historiques) and local support in the form of a vote by the council. Each village must pay an annual fee to the association and the mayor must sign the association's Quality Charter. If the village fails to meet the requirements of the charter it may be excluded. The association claims membership can bring a rise of between 10 and 50% in visitor numbers. The southern departments of the Dordogne and Aveyron have the most number of member villages, with ten in each. They are followed by Vaucluse, with seven, and Lot, with six. Following the success of the French certification, similar associations have been formed in Wallonia (Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie), Quebec (Les Plus Beaux Villages du Québec), Italy (I Borghi più belli d’Italia), Japan (日本で最も美しい村」連合 Nihon de mottomo utsukushii mura rengō), Spain (Los pueblos más bonitos de España), Russia (Самые красивые деревни России), and Switzerland and Liechtenstein (Les plus beaux villages de Suisse). History The idea of an association to gather the most beautiful villages of France was born in Collonges-la-Rouge, Corrèze in 1981. Charles Ceyrac, mayor of the village, was inspired by a Reader's Digest book entitled Les Plus Beaux Villages de France which included pictures of Collonges. He decided to launch an association that would unite villages to give them a public face and revitalise their economies. He wrote to the mayors of one hundred villages included in the book, advising them of his plans. Sixty-six mayors responded and the association was officially founded on 6 March 1982 at Salers, Cantal. Charles Ceyrac remained the president of the association until 1996, when he was succeeded by Maurice Chabert, mayor of Gordes, Vaucluse, who is the current president. The association is still situated in Collonges-la-Rouge. The association and its certification have been very successful.