Parisian stranger's inheritance transforms sleepy Thiberville
The town of Thiberville received the lion's share of an inheritance from an unknown Parisian named Roger Thiberville, who never set foot on its cobblestones. The town will gain several million euros, an amount roughly equivalent to a five-year budget, as reported by the newspaper "The Guardian".
The deceased had only one connection with the town: it shares his name.
The town received a fortune
Roger Thiberville, a meteorologist from a family of vineyard owners, had only one request for the town: he wished to be buried in the town cemetery.
Surprised and delighted, the residents and officials are now considering how to allocate the unexpected gift.
- 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
Thiberville now plans to pay off a bank loan of over $410,000, taken out 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 for shade, and a soccer field.
According to the mayor, Roger Thiberville lived modestly in Paris, where he nevertheless owned four apartments.
Thiberville, assessed by the portal, is an unassuming town that boasts a castle from the late 19th century and a former ribbon factory, but beyond that, it doesn't stand out particularly among other Norman communes.
