Apparently, they call mead “hydromel” (water honey?) in France. I found a bottle sealed with beeswax at a little farmer’s market in the absolutely beautiful town of Cassis, along the southern Coast, between Marseilles and St. Tropez. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
As a bonus, when I told the beekeeper we had “deux ruches” back in Seattle, he didn’t scorn our “city honey”. Rest of the story of the day and the beautiful city of Cassis on our travel blog.