Well small scale artisanal food production is a French speciality, especially in the south west with all the poultry breeding that goes on there, but all over really. So when you wheel in to a community saying you're doing a similar thing they're going to be wanting to know about whether you're going to be producing stuff to sell, how that might affect local producers and the market, the ecology of the area, whether it runs contrary to local interests or in tandem with them etc. They're very protective of their agriculture and food production and as that's an area that I guess you're going to be trading in at least to an extent they're going to be wanting to make sure you've got all the correct permissions and going about getting them is a much more personal process than in the UK and locals can make it quite difficult for people moving in to the area sometimes.
That's not to say you can't make it work though, having someone who is absolutely conversationally fluent in french will be a massive help. I would be studying hard learning my French if I was in your posistion too. It always helps to show willing to engage with the local community on a simple level like that, just having a core of people who are able to do the necessary negotiating in the language will be a big help.
In some ways France is just perfect for the sort of plan you have though. My aunty and uncle used to live in the south and it's still a very traditional culture down there. Lots of people smallholding at least in some way whether it be having a small load of ducks and making confit every year that they swap for wine or cheese with your man down the road that's got a few sheep for milk or a small vinyard and that sort of thing. I guess that culture is kind of perfect for if you're planning on producing stuff both for your table and for value to exchange. Realistically being totally self-sufficient isn't likely to be easy, you're going to need at least stuff to sell or exchange for goods/services you need at some point.
