Thanks FrogFlyer for the post and welcome. It's good to get some posts from abroad, particular with the connections to the UK and Ireland.
Great post and very intriguing since they keep flying off!
I'm no crane expert, but they certainly look like cranes to me, probably Grus grus. I'm sure John can give us a conclusion.
For our Members who don't know about Limousin in France, and perhaps thought you were living in the back of a car! I've posted a link and some maps to show the area in central France where you photographed these birds.
Google Map
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=limousin+france