Any decent butcher offers not just chicken, but a wide selection of designer chickens, labeled by breed and sometimes by place of origin. In fact, some types of chickens even take an A.O.C. designation, like fine wines or cheese.
(A.O.C., "appellation d'origine controlee," certifies that a product comes from a certain region and was made to certain standards. For example, A.O.C. Champagne is wine made from exactly three types of grapes that were grown in a specified region just east of Paris, using a particular method of fermentation. These laws are quite strict, which is why the French go ballistic when certain American wine companies label random California bubbly as "champagne.")
As a certificate of authenticity, the butchers will leave identifying body parts -- legs, heads, feathers -- on the chickens to prove that they are what they say they are. Notice, e.g., the black knees on the chicken closest to the camera in this photo:
I've wanted to roast one of these and see what it's like, but I don't trust my oven's temperature control enough to entrust one of these expensive birds to it. But today, my butcher was selling just the legs from a "poulet fermier," so I bought some.
They are the best chicken I've ever had: leaner, darker and more flavorful than even a U.S. free range or organic chicken. The closest I've ever come to this in the U.S. was actually guinea hen, but these are more tender and easier to cook. Although not really French, this recipe worked perfectly with them.
The whole thing reminds me of the current fuss in the United States about heirloom tomatoes. Here, there are just tomatoes, fresh from Italy or southern France in season, but at this time of year grown in Holland or Belgium in hothouses (the same kind you can get at an exorbitant price in U.S. grocery stores). But the chickens ... wow. Someone should import a few eggs and start growing them in America.
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