Today's best story - Tiny French town left 10m fortune by a man who had never been there

[malaise]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/11/tiny-french-town-left-10m-fortune-by-a-man-who-had-never-been-there

Thiberville in Normandy receives windfall worth five times annual budget from a Paris resident who was named after it

Throughout Roger Thiberville’s long life, he never once visited the Normandy town that gave him his last name. Descended from a family of vineyard owners, he inherited property in Paris from his parents and worked as a meteorologist.

But when he died in August at the age of 91 leaving no descendants, the mayor of Thiberville (population 1,773) received a phone call. Thiberville the man had left Thiberville the town most of his estimated €10m fortune.

Guy Paris, the mayor of Thiberville, said astonished and delighted locals and officials were now considering how to spend the unexpected windfall, which is five times the municipality’s annual budget. “It’s an exceptional sum of money. Obviously the amount is beyond imagination,” Paris told the local radio station, France Bleu. “We don’t yet know what we will do with it.

[marble falls]

1. This is a terrible miscarriage of justice ...

... he meant to leave it to me, Thiberville Falls.

[malaise]

2. You should have told him

😀😀😀

[marble falls]

5. One of these times it's gonna work!

[malaise]

8. You had decades to contact him

my friend😀

[-misanthroptimist]

3. So...

...Thiberville lived in Paris...and the Paris was the mayor of Thiberville?

France confuses me.

[marble falls]

6. And I'd settle for less. What are they hiding?

[malaise]

9. Hehehe

A truly great story😀

[Swede]

4. First thing they should do is buy a new car.

A big fancy one.

[marble falls]

7. I'm thinking a '18 or mehbe a '19 F-250 crew long bed. Jacked up about 18".

[malaise]

10. Here's the town

https://www.google.com/maps/place/27230+Thiberville,+France/@49.1330276,0.4402352,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x47e1bb9367c79d57:0xaea4e2d824a9d937!8m2!3d49.137693!4d0.456406!16s%2Fm%2F02x6c41?hl=en-jm&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D