Parisian benefactor leaves small norman town €10m legacy
The Norman town of Thiberville has received a substantial inheritance from a stranger residing in Paris. The man never visited the town, and his sole connection to it was their shared surname.
Roger Thiberville, a meteorologist from a family of vineyard owners, chose to bequeath a significant portion of his estate, estimated at 10 million euros, to the Norman town of Thiberville.
A fortune for a small town in France
The donated amount is equivalent to the town’s five-year budget. Although the man never visited the town, and their only link was a shared name, his sole condition for the inheritance was to be buried in the local cemetery.
The decision by the Parisian surprised the residents and authorities of Thiberville. "It’s an extraordinary amount. It surpasses all imagination," said Mayor Guy Paris on a local radio station. "We don’t yet know what we will do with it, but we won’t spend it all. We will manage this gift as we have always managed our town budget— with prudence and responsibility," he added.
The town plans to pay off a bank loan of over 350 thousand pounds, taken out for the construction of a primary school. As Thiberville is a public entity, it will not have to pay inheritance tax. Proposals for the remaining funds include the construction of a park with a playground, a boules pitch, and a football field.
An exceptional benefactor
Roger Thiberville lived modestly in Paris, although he owned four apartments. The town that received his inheritance is quiet in Normandy, noted for attractions such as a late 19th-century castle and an old ribbon factory. However, it does not stand out among other regional communes.
The unexpected inheritance stirred emotions not only in Thiberville but also in neighbouring localities. The villages of Le Planquay and La Chapelle-Hareng might now regret their decision to decline a proposal to merge with Thiberville, which was intended to help secure grants for centres with over two thousand residents. Now Thiberville, with a population of 1,773, will not have to share the inheritance with its neighbours.
