Thiberville – A small village is happy about a big gift: When a French millionaire (91) died, he bequeathed 10 million euros to the town – and that only because the town had the same name as his.
The main characters in this strange and beautiful story are the town of Thiberville France and his namesake Roger Thiberville, born in 1932, died on August 23, 2024.
At the end of his life, the extremely wealthy Frenchman asked himself what should happen to his inheritance after his death. There were no descendants, but there were even more possessions. Four apartments in the 15th arrondissement alone Paris belonged to Roger Thiberville. The Eiffel Tower is not far away from here, and the Louvre greets you across the Seine.
The town hall of Thiberville in the Eure department in the Normandy region. The phone rang here unexpectedly in August
Millionaire himself lived modestly
When writing his Testaments the senior got creative. His accountant gets part of the inheritance. For the rest, Thiberville found a more than unusual solution. 10 million euros will go to where his name lives on forever, even without descendants: to Thiberville. And that despite the fact that he never visited the town in Normandy, which has a population of 1,773, during his lifetime.
When the millionaire, who lived modestly on the outskirts of Paris, died in August, the phone rang in Thiberville town hall a few days later. Mayor Guy Paris: “It was the notary who told us about this Herbs informed. I was a little surprised, but I was even more surprised when I found out the amount.”
But it still took a while until then. It wasn’t until the beginning of December that Guy Paris found out what was coming to Thiberville. 10 million euros! “Luckily I was sitting,” the mayor remembers.
What happens to the millions?
The legacy is equivalent to five times Thiberville’s annual budget. In order to manage this sum in the best possible way, Mayor Guy Paris has sought support. The first measure will be to pay off the municipality’s debts amounting to 407,037 euros. Also in the development of the infrastructure Money flow.
And then? Guy Paris: “We have projects: renovating the public garden with playground, energy-saving renovation of the elementary school, a new fire station and new artificial turf for the football field.”
By the way, Monsieur Thiberville still started his journey to Thiberville. His ashes were buried in the local cemetery. There will soon be a stele dedicated to the namesake and his generous Gift remember.