French tourist officials are bemused by a scheme to use francs in a village in Provence - and are urging holidaymakers to stick to euros.

Shopkeepers in Collobrières, 30km (20 miles) west of St Tropez, began accepting francs this summer after complaints about inflation in the prices of goods sold in euros. People who had not traded in francs when France converted to euros were invited to visit to spend leftover currency.

But a spokeswoman for the French tourist board is surprised the system is still in place: “I can't understand it at all. I mean, who has kept their francs? I cannot see it working.

“Collobrières is a nice village: pretty and traditional with atmosphere and good restaurants,” she said. “But I just can't understand the francs.”

Locals, however, are adamant that the currency is here to stay and say that they are proud of the old national notes and coins. The mayor has said that francs are part of the country's identity and that there was a sense of loss after the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2002.

One customer at the shops in Collobrières has spent more than 60,000 francs. He says that he found 20,000 in an old jacket and 40,000 more in the back of a drawer - raising eyebrows among locals.

A YouTube video entitled “The franc's alive and well in Collobrières” includes a clip in which a local baker, Nathalie Lepeltier, who is accepting francs, says that the scheme is nothing to do with money- laundering and that people who want to change francs into euros should go to a bank.

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