Thiberville's unexpected windfall: A legacy and a new future
The town of Thiberville received the lion's share of an inheritance from an unknown Parisian, Roger Thiberville, who never set foot on its cobblestones. Thiberville will gain several million euros, an amount roughly equal to its five-year budget, as reported by the newspaper The Guardian.
The deceased only had one connection with the town: it shares his last name, Thiberville.
The town received a fortune
Roger Thiberville, a meteorologist from a family of vineyard owners, stipulated only one condition: he wishes to be buried in the town cemetery.
Surprised and delighted, the residents and officials are now considering what to allocate the unexpected gift to.
- It’s an exceptional sum of money. Obviously the amount is beyond imagination - said Guy Paris, the mayor of Thiberville, to a local radio station.
- We don't know yet what we will do with it. We’re not going to spend it all. We’re going to manage this dowry as we’ve always done with our municipal budget — with care and responsibility - he added.
Here is what they want to allocate the money to
The town now plans to pay off a bank loan of over 590,000 Canadian dollars, taken for the construction of a primary school. Since the town is a public entity, it will not have to pay inheritance tax. Among the potential projects to be funded from the inheritance are a garden with a playground, a pétanque court with solar panels that will provide shade, and a soccer field.
According to the mayor, Roger Thiberville lived modestly in Paris, even though he owned four apartments there.
Thiberville, the portal assessed, is an unassuming town that features a castle from the late 19th century and a former ribbon factory but, beyond that, doesn't stand out particularly against other Norman communes.
