Belgium
clenche
Meaning
a door handle
Elsewhere
poignée de porte
Explanation
Most of France reaches for the poignée de porte, or the bec-de-cane. Belgians, and plenty of people in the north and east of France, reach for the clenche.
Example
Il a actionné la clenche tout doucement pour ne pas nous réveiller.
He worked the door handle very gently so as not to wake us.
Origin
On record since the 13th century, from the Frankish klinka, a latch: the lever that swings to block a door shut.
Where
Belgium
northern and eastern France, Normandy
Source