Since her marriage to Jean in 1952, she has never lived anywhere else. Geneviève, 91, knows every square centimeter of this family home, located in Saint-Aubin (47). To the point where you can move around with your eyes closed. Almost blind, she lives there alone and intends to continue like this “as long as possible. » Arm in a sling after a fractured elbow following a fall, green Presence bracelet around her wrist, the retiree leaves less and less “the chair of her 80 years”.
Thursday, May 30, in the morning, it was impossible to find the file. Geneviève suffered a voluntary power cut, operated remotely. Or rather a termination of her subscription, a new stage of the divorce procedure in which she finds herself embroiled. “They should have divorced a long time ago, but Dad, who had left with someone else, never wanted to. He maintained two households,” summarizes their daughter Danièle. The story is not trivial. Neither does the turn it takes.
Paltry retirement pension
Two years ago, forty-five years after leaving the marital home, Jean, soon to be 95, returned to live under the same roof as his wife. The man, in fact, had to leave his concubine’s home. The situation, although incongruous, could have continued like this for years.
A court summons tipped him over the edge: “His common-law wife and our half-sister, accompanied by a lawyer, felt that our father was in danger here and that, to protect his capital, he had to be placed under guardianship.” says Danièle. Once in a nursing home, the former craftsman no longer had the means to meet his needs and those of his wife, who assisted him without ever being declared and receives a derisory retirement pension. “On the advice of our notary, there was no other solution than to launch the divorce procedure. »
“Unbelievable violence”
This having not yet been pronounced, the email received on May 29 from the Departmental Union of Family Affairs (Udaf), which manages the guardianship of their father, stunned the two sisters: “It was of a incredible violence. They asked us, at the injunction of our father’s lawyer, to inform mother that her electricity, water and mutual insurance subscriptions were going to be canceled. » The response, proposing a change of RIB for the subscription, in order to avoid such a detrimental situation for Geneviève was read, but remained without effect.
“We never wanted this lady’s electricity to be cut off”
“It is an administrative decision which was taken, without thinking, without humanity, without kindness”, judges Danièle, with tears in her eyes. After struggling for long hours on the telephone, an EDF agent restarted the meter remotely at the end of the day, after the intervention of “McGyver”, a Saint-Aubinois always available to help Geneviève, and Guy Poueymidanette, former farmer and chief magistrate of this village of nearly 400 souls for twenty-three years.
“In our very individual society, we are lucky that mom lives in the village of my childhood. Friends are still there. We live a few kilometers away. There is real solidarity here, real kindness. » Hesitant to file a complaint for endangering the lives of others, Danièle testifies “so that this does not happen to other isolated grannies. »
Unusual speed?
In her house, Geneviève can count on her neighbor, who visits her once or twice a day, or on her housekeeper from Monflanquin’s Rural Home Help (ADMR), who stops by even on her days off. . It was she who reported the absence of power to Geneviève’s daughters, who then asked Didier, the famous “McGyver”, to come and take a look. By calling EDF, he understood.
“It’s a big moral and professional mistake coming from a structure responsible for helping people”
“At Udaf, they knew the situation of the two people. This is the most shocking, notes the mayor, Guy Poueymidanette. This is a major moral and professional error coming from a structure responsible for helping people. It’s absurd. » Called into question, the Udaf wishes to assure that such a situation “absolutely does not correspond to the values that we defend”.
Its communications department recalls that contacts with the family have taken place since this incident: “We never wanted the electricity to be cut off to this lady. This is regrettable and this is not the purpose of our approach. The idea is to regularize an administrative situation. We act in the interests of Sir. We requested the termination of the contract in his name and that his transfer be carried out. But we do not have control over the duration of the operation by the service provider. If EDF had intervened within the usual deadlines, which are usually longer, this would be a non-issue. » The energy supplier will appreciate it.
