Some 79 garden gnomes snatched by a so-called gnome liberation group, were discovered Wednesday along the banks of a stream in the central Limousin region, police said.
The gnomes were hidden in some underbrush with a banner that read, "gnome mistreated, gnome liberated", police said.
A national garden gnome liberation operation was announced on the group's website in honor of the Nov. 1 French holiday, All Saint's Day.
Of course, Neatorama readers are well aware of the oppression gnomes face in their day to day existence in gardens around the world.