Just joined this fascinating forum and just bought a lump of land in Burgundy France, which historically been grazed and cut for hay. We are going to create a large garden on the site over the next few years and are currently researching which plants will suit the area and are good to eat. It would also be good to make contract with any members in France and other European countries.
If you're planting maples (in addition to plants good to eat), check out the Maples forum. At least a few folks from Europe hang out there. You can see what they're growing.