I am surprised the other reviews are not more postive....How many DZ's do you know where the manifest staff (Claude, Gill etc) regularly come into the packing hall to ask jumpers whether they want to make another jump, checking whether people have got someone to jump with and are having a good time?
I intially arrived in Lapalisse as the only Brit (who unsurprisingly speaks terrible french) there at the time...as with most places, providing you make an effort then you will have a great time and get to know a really nice bunch of people. The Freefly Convention in July was excellent...great organising and by all accounts the Easter Boogie is not to be missed either...these are of course the people that organise the Espace Boogie down the road at Vichy.
OK, it is perhaps a little more expensive than some other DZ's (but you can camp for free and even keep a trailer there if you are a regular jumper), it isn't located in a party town like Empuria but it is a great place to go, especially for the organised events. I was made to feel very welcome...Vive le Lapalisse!