Le Figaro Nantes
During his New Year's greetings, on January 14, the mayor of La Regrippière (Loire-Atlantique) made a little joke.
“I said in my text that the town was doing rather well but that it is always difficult with the costs increasing
,” remembers Pascal Evin from Le
Figaro
.
However, at the end of December, a few dozen kilometers away, a resident had just made an anonymous donation of 100,000 euros to the town of Châteaubriant.
An opportunity for the councilor to ironically:
“if anyone wants to do the same thing for La Regrippière, they are welcome!”
.
What was his astonishment when, two days later, he received a phone call from Crédit Agricole informing him of a similar gesture of 81,000 euros.
“It’s a pleasant surprise!
We didn't want to release the information too early because we wanted to verify it, and find out about tax deductions
,” explains the councilor, confirming the story revealed by
L'Hebdo de Sèvre-et-Maine
.
This approximate amount, which could therefore be reassessed, comes from the life insurance contract of Paul Rousselière, who died on December 24, 2023.
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Good relations with the former mayor
The generous citizen had ended his days in a nursing home, in Saint-Philbert-de-Bouaine (Vendée), after having lived in La Regrippière, more precisely at a place called La Doricière.
He was also buried in his lifelong stronghold.
“He had worked in a dairy, in Vallet, 8km away.
He had no children and lived alone.
I think he got along well with the former mayor.
He had good relations with him and wanted to return it to the municipality
,” muses Pascal Evin, elected in 2020, who had already met the donor in the past but did not know him personally.
The amount represents a significant sum for the town of 1,650 inhabitants, whose annual budget is 1.1 million euros over the year.
“We do not want it to be put in a common pot and spent without special allocation
,” continues the first magistrate of the municipality who asked each municipal councilor to think about an action or infrastructure in which this money could be invested.
With the idea of building something that would pay homage to Paul Rousselière.
The proposals will be debated at the next municipal council and should be ratified in the following months.