Not having an address in 2022, that may seem unlikely. And yet, this is a feature that is still very widespread, mainly in the countryside. A heresy at the time of deliveries and other home services, but also an additional constraint for all emergency services. So much so that an amendment to the 3DS bill (differentiation, decentralization, deconcentration and simplification of local public action) implies the obligation of addressing in all French municipalities whereas until now this obligation only concerned municipalities with more than 2000 inhabitants. According to the General Code of Local Authorities, it is up to the municipal council to deal with it. The mayors of small towns are therefore already trying toorganize to allow their citizens to have a number and a street name.
Read alsoCan the soul of a city be read in the names of its streets?
"
It's a process that is quite long and heavy,
" warns Jean-Sébastien Halliez, the mayor of Brassy.
This municipality located in the Nièvre has an area of 54 km2 for only 650 inhabitants.
Before 2018, only the streets of the central village had a name.
All the others, which connect the 30 hamlets of the village to each other, did not have any.
"
We had to find a name for fifty streets
," said the aedile, "
so we decided to go on a participatory method.
"
Represent the local heritage
"
The municipal commission in charge of the project then wrote a regulation issued proposals, two to three by street, building on names-locality or geographic history. Proper names have been excluded, it's a choice, to avoid controversy
, ”says Jean-Sébastien Halliez. “
At that time the inhabitants were gathered by sector and they had to vote for one of the proposals. They could also make a new proposal, provided that almost all of them agree and respect the regulations of the municipal commission. There were about five to ten streets.
“At the end of two years of proceedings, each Brassycois had a precise address including a street name and a unique number, based on a metric system.
Putting the local heritage in the spotlight when addressing is a constant in many villages. In Saint-Aubin-du-Thenney in the Eure, the mayor has decided to rely on old names of localities to name its streets. “
We used the 1831 cadastre and the 18th century Cassini map to try to find names. All the same, we kept the said places but we put them back in the old fashioned way. For example, we have a locality called Haute Équerre, but in reality the real name was Hautiquaire. Similarly, Bosc Guéret, (from bosc, wood in Norman) had become Beau Guéret so it had nothing to do with it,
”explains Nadia Nadaud. Beyond the resumption of cadastres, the elected representative also wanted to pay tribute to a symbolic profession of the village."I wanted there to be the name"
froquetier
”somewhere because it is an important passage in the history of the village.
The cold keepers were craftsmen from the village who made the frock, a very famous woolen fabric. ”
Read alsoHow the government wants to diversify street names
Elsewhere, other initiatives are also emerging.
In Haute-Loire, the town of Félines even decided to honor its illustrious inhabitants by naming its 70 streets after them, reported France 3 Auvergne last May.
Identity mirror
Giving a name to its streets is not only allowing everyone to have an address, it is also touching on the question of the identity of the municipality and its inhabitants. So, the mayors are very careful when they begin to canvass them for addressing. “
Behind each name, there is a symbol of identity which concerns all the inhabitants and on which it is interesting to work
”, explains Jean-Sébastien Halliez. It is for this reason that the city council insisted that its citizens play a central role in the choice of street names. In Courcelles-de-Touraine, the addressing process, finalized in 2019, also relied in part on the inhabitants. "
We started out with the logic of conversation, of all thatwe could hear in the street
», Explains Philippe Adet, the mayor of the town.
“
It has remained fairly informal.
And then within the city council, we relied on long-standing members.
There is a lady born three kilometers away and who has lived in the area all her life, that was my reference.
"
The inhabitants were worried about losing their identity but otherwise they are rather delighted, it changes life a bit anyway
Jean-Sébastien Halliez
Historical and used for many years, the names of localities and hamlets, witnesses of the local identity, often coexist with the new street names. “
There has been a discussion to keep the names of the hamlets in the address and people by custom continue to do so. They now have a dual address,
”says Jean-Sébastien Halliez. "
In addition to the address, we kept the names of localities, people in the area can recognize each other either by the localities or by the new address, we played on both counts
", agrees Philippe Adet.
Still, touching the local identity also means exposing yourself to some criticism. Naming the streets, "
It doesn't always appeal to everyone, eh!" There are three people, I think out of habit they weren't happy. There is even one who has changed his entrance so as not to be in the rue de la Hautiquaire. It's a lot of fun,
”says Nadia Nadaud. In the village of Cremps, an anonymous letter was even sent to the mayor denouncing the addressing process that the latter had initiated. “
We don't need to urbanize,
” said a resident interviewed by France Bleu Creuse.
"
The inhabitants played the game well, they were worried about losing their identity but otherwise they are rather delighted, it changes life a little anyway
", wishes to reassure Jean-Sébastien Halliez.
"
Now it is very well accepted, 6 months later we heard more about it
", abounds Philippe Adet.
"
Most of the inhabitants were very happy to have a street name and a number
", assures Nadia Nadaud.
