This summer, Valentine Chapuis, a photographer with AFP, spent time with two young shepherds as they tended to their flocks in the solitude of the French Pyrenees mountains. Alisson Carrere-Sastre and Soline Castet are among the newest generation of French shepherds watching over herds of cows and sheep as they roam the mountain pastures, grazing from June to September. Though they may wear modern gear and carry cellphones, traditional aspects remain, as they still carry (and use) a shepherd’s crook, and rely on their beloved dogs to guide and protect their flocks.
A New Generation of Shepherds in the French Pyrenees
- Alan Taylor
- September 28, 2022
- 18 Photos
- In Focus
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Alisson Carrere-Sastre, a 23-year-old shepherd, watches over her flock in the valley of Aygues Tortes, in the French Pyrenees, on July 9, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
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Alisson Carrere-Sastre opens a gate to let the flock of sheep pass, in the Soula Valley in the French Pyrenees, on September 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Carrere-Sastre looks up at her dog, Panny, in the Soula Valley on July 9, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Carrere-Sastre catches a sheep with her crook in the valley of Aygues Tortes on August 11, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
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On a path in the Soula Valley, Carrere-Sastre carries a lamb on her shoulders on September 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
A flock of sheep begins its descent into the valley at the end of summer, in the Soula Valley, on September 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Carrere-Sastre watches over the herd while holding her crook, in the valley of Aygues Tortes on July 9, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
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Soline Castet, a 20-year-old cowherd, stands at the entrance of her refuge in the Gela Valley in the French Pyrenees, on July 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Soline Castet watches over her friend Lucas's flock of sheep in the Gela Valley on July 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Castet trims the infected hoof of a sheep on July 15, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
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While tending her flock, Castet looks out over the Gela Valley in the French Pyrenees, on July 15, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Castet watches over her herd of cows in the Gela Valley on July 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Three sheep stand out against the sky on a ridge above the Gela Valley, on July 15, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
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Alisson Carrere-Sastre rests with her dogs in the Soula cabin on August 10, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Carrere-Sastre watches over her flock in the valley of Aygues Tortes on July 10, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
Carrere-Sastre pets Miss, a Pyrenean mountain dog, in the valley of Aygues Tortes, on July 9, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
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A flock of sheep grazes in the valley of Aygues Tortes on July 9, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty -
A flock of sheep returns to a meadow after spending the summer in the mountains, descending from the Soula Valley, on September 14, 2022. #
Valentine Chapuis / AFP / Getty
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