Villes et villages étoilés

Villes et villages étoilés (often abbreviated VVE) is a French environmental label awarded by the Association nationale pour la protection du ciel et de l'environnement nocturnes (ANPCEN), a non-profit association founded in 1999 to protect the night sky and fight light pollution. The label recognises municipalities that manage their public lighting in a way that limits light pollution, protects biodiversity and human health, and saves energy. It is graded from one to five stars according to the level of commitment of the commune to managing its night-time lighting. The label was first organised as a competition in 2009, the same year ANPCEN obtained its first municipal charter commitment from Rocbaron in the Var. Over time it has grown into a national programme. According to the ANPCEN homepage, as of 30 September 2025, 1,062 communes held the VVE label and 17 territories (communautés de communes or regional natural parks) were distinguished with the complementary TVVE (Territoires de Villes et Villages étoilés) distinction. The label is awarded for a two-year cycle; the 2024–2025 results were published on the ANPCEN website. Villes et villages étoilés is not a commercial product but a trademarked environmental distinction. It is owned and administered by ANPCEN, a French association recognised as being of general interest and accredited at national level for environmental protection. The label is part of ANPCEN's broader advocacy work on light pollution, which includes contributing to French legislation such as the Grenelle Environment laws and the 2013 and 2018 decrees on night-time lighting extinction. The association also runs the Jour de la nuit event and publishes studies on night quality. The label is open to all French communes and intercommunal territories. Municipalities apply and are assessed on criteria such as lighting schedules, the extent of nocturnal extinction, the types of lamps used, and efforts to raise awareness. The star rating provides a simple, visible way for residents and visitors to identify towns that are taking action to preserve the night. The programme is supported by volunteers and local correspondents of ANPCEN, and it relies on the association's network of members and partner organisations.

The Villes et villages étoilés label is a programme of the Association nationale pour la protection du ciel et de l'environnement nocturnes (ANPCEN). ANPCEN was founded in 1999 by astronomers and later joined by naturalists, researchers, lighting technicians and elected officials. Its original name was Association nationale pour la protection du ciel nocturne (ANPCN); the constitutive meeting took place on 4 October 1998 during the second national congress for the protection of the night sky, organised by the Comité national pour la protection du ciel nocturne, which had been set up in 1994 within the Société d'astronomie de France. The association's statutes were published on 20 March 1999. In 2007, ANPCN became ANPCEN, broadening its scope to all issues of light pollution, and joined France Nature Environnement. It contributed to the debates of the Grenelle Environnement. In 2009, ANPCEN obtained the first signature by a commune, Rocbaron in the Var, of its charter of commitment, organised the first edition of the Villes et villages étoilés competition, and became a partner of the first edition of the Jour de la nuit event. This marked the birth of the label as a recurring initiative. The label grew steadily. In 2013, the International Dark-Sky Association jointly awarded ANPCEN and the French Government a trophy recognising the advances of the Grenelle Environment in preventing light nuisances. In 2014, ANPCEN obtained national accreditation as an environmental protection association from the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. In 2018, ANPCEN published a study with Port-Cros National Park on night quality on the island of Porquerolles, a protected Mediterranean pilot site. Also in 2018, following litigation initiated with FNE and FRAPNA Isère, the Conseil d'État condemned the State for failing to take all regulatory measures necessary to implement the prevention of light nuisances under the Grenelle laws. In 2020, an asteroid, registered as number 40023, was named 'ANPCEN' by its Belgian discoverer Eric Elst, who had discovered it from the La Silla observatory in Chile in 1998. The label itself is awarded for a two-year cycle. According to the ANPCEN homepage, as of 30 September 2025, 1,062 communes were labelled VVE and 17 territories (communautés de communes or regional natural parks) were distinguished with the TVVE (Plus) distinction. The 2024-2025 results were published on the website. The label is part of ANPCEN's broader actions, which include national advocacy and local support and education. ANPCEN has contributed to French legislation on light pollution, including the Grenelle Environment laws, the energy transition law and the biodiversity law, and has monitored the implementation of associated decrees and orders, such as the January 2012 decree on outdoor advertising and the January 2013 and December 2018 orders on night-time extinction. It has also called for an update of the ANSES opinion on the health and environmental effects of LEDs, which is now included in the national health-environment plan. In May 2021, the Government published its fourth national health-environment plan, which includes an action to reduce nuisances linked to artificial light for health and the environment. ANPCEN operates entirely on a volunteer basis, with a board of directors and a network of local correspondents. It has more than a hundred member associations, as well as local authorities and individuals, representing over 6,000 mobilised people. The label Villes et villages étoilés is one of its flagship tools, alongside the charter of commitments signed by some 200 communes representing 2,100,000 inhabitants, environmental labels for light, and a graph tracking the evolution of public lighting from 1960 to 2015. ANPCEN also advocates for a 'trame nocturne' (night-time network) to integrate light management into ecological continuities and green and blue networks.

• 2025

  As of 30 September 2025, 1,062 communes labelled VVE and 17 territories distinguished TVVE.

• 2020

  Asteroid 40023 named 'ANPCEN'.

• 2018

  ANPCEN publishes a study on night quality on Porquerolles with Port-Cros National Park; Conseil d'État condemns the State for failing to implement light-nuisance prevention.

• 2014

  ANPCEN obtains national accreditation as an environmental protection association.

• 2013

  International Dark-Sky Association awards a trophy jointly to ANPCEN and the French Government.

• 2009

  First edition of the Villes et villages étoilés competition organised; first municipal charter signed by Rocbaron.

• 2007

  ANPCN becomes ANPCEN, broadening its scope to all light-pollution issues, and joins France Nature Environnement.

• 1999

  Statutes of the association published on 20 March.

• 1998

  Constitutive meeting of the Association nationale pour la protection du ciel nocturne (ANPCN) on 4 October.

A voluntary environmental label rewarding French municipalities and territories for responsible night-time lighting and light-pollution reduction.

• Villes et villages étoilés label (1 to 5 stars)

  A label awarded to French communes based on their commitment to managing night-time lighting and reducing light pollution.

• Territoires de Villes et Villages étoilés (TVVE)

  A distinction for intercommunal territories or regional natural parks that go further in night-time lighting management.

1. 1ANPCEN - Préservons la nuitanpcen.fr
2. 2Association nationale pour la protection du ciel et de l'environnement nocturnesfr.wikipedia.org
3. 3Villes et villages étoiléswikidata.org