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Iconic Normandy village searches for baker

The Local France
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Iconic Normandy village searches for baker
The village of Villerville in Normandy, with a still from the film that made it famous. Photo: AFP

A picture-postcard French village, made famous by the film Un Singe en Hiver, is searching for a baker after the local boulangerie closed down, leaving locals baguette-less.

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The village of Villerville in Calvados, Normandy, is running an advertising campaign to attract a baker - with the local authority offering a freshly-renovated property for anyone willing to take it on. 

The mairie has bought a shop in the village - the site of the old pharmacy - and is undertaking €35,000 of renovations to turn it into a functioning boulangerie.

And now they're appealing for someone to take it on, with subsidised rent at first.

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Deputy mayor Éric Estrier told Le Parisien: "We've made sure that the rent is as smooth as possible. It will gradually rise to €1,400. The €5,000 start-up fee can be paid later. The aim is for professionals to build up their cash flow."

The village - instantly recognisable to anyone who has seen the classic Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Gabin film Un Singe en hiver (a monkey in winter) - has around 4,000 residents in summer, but just 600 in winter.

At present inhabitants can either get their bread in the local mini-market, or travel 6km to Trouville-sur-Mer to find the nearest boulangerie. 

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karen wildau 2024/02/13 17:31
sounds like the Pagnol movie, La Femme de Boulanger

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