An 89-year-old woman, who died in August 2024, bequeathed her assets worth two million euros to the town of Escoville, in Calvados (France), with only 850 inhabitants. The woman, however, has set two conditions, as confirmed by the town’s mayor to the French media. .
“The notary contacted me by email so we could see each other. I went from one place to another, when I read Monette’s will, I didn’t believe it, I was taken aback. My arms fell. Fallen!” says the mayor. , Christophe Cliquet.
In the 24 years that Cliquet has been in office he has never seen anything like this. “I didn’t know her well, but I often met her at the bakery or in the cemetery where she visited her family’s graves,” the official says. In fact, Monette was originally from Escoville, she grew up there with her relatives, although at the time of her death she lived in Mondeville.
Christophe Cliquet remembers: “She was a lady full of energy, kind, she was doing well. I did not expect to find out about her death at the notary and even less to discover this wonderful gift she gave us.”
The woman did not have children and bequeathed three houses in the municipality of Escoville, seven houses in Mondeville, her life insurance and what appeared in her bank accounts. “It represents more than four times the budget of the municipality of Escoville. In 2024, investments here were valued at 700,000 euros,” explains Cliquet.
But in her will Monette set her conditions. She gives this money to the town and wants, in exchange, for the town to maintain the three family graves located in the Escoville cemetery. As for the income from the houses, he wants it to be invested in the restoration of the church. “We will not sell the houses and we have called companies to quote the works of the church,” confesses the mayor.
The religious building dates back to the 16th century and is not in bad condition: “We maintain it regularly, but we have to restore the main altar, the doors and the cemetery walls.” “Monette was very pious. She regularly went to the Cabourg church and often stopped at the Escoville church, where her loved ones rest. She also rests here from now on. We will respect her wishes, I am committed to doing so,” adds the mayor. .
