“There is pressure. We tell elected officials that Breton is too complicated.”

Change address without moving. Many French people should expect this in the coming months. A law passed in 2022 requires mayors of municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants to assign an address to each of them. However, 1.6 million households still do not have a specific address. Officially, elected officials had until 1^is June to comply with this law. At this stage, only 21,087 of them have done so, or 60% of the municipalities. Martine Jolly, the independent mayor of Courcy (Marne, 1,300 inhabitants), is one of the latecomers. “We haven’t started yet”she explains, very surprised to learn that the 1^is June was the arrival date, not the departure date. “Well, we’re going to be a little late.she concludes. But I don’t think we’re going to be guillotined in public…”

M^me Jolly, it is true, is afraid to embark on this project. “extremely complicated”, “in addition to everything else”she recalls: “If we have to change five addresses, it will be war. Five hundred, you imagine…she sighs. I’m not going to panic. We’re not even a week away. We will already pay for an inventory, and we will make decisions. » No sanctions are planned for municipalities that missed the boat on 1^is June.

For city councilors, the task is often thorny and politically sensitive. Even if the objective of the reform does not pose a problem. The municipality of Saint-Jean-d’Heurs (Puy-de-Dôme, 700 inhabitants) realized this before the 2022 law. “It was strikingsays the mayor, Bernard Frasiak (various left). We had a fire station here, so they knew the area well. It has now closed; help comes from the surrounding area, and they don’t know the town well. » However, recently indicated Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for the National Federation of Firefighters in The Parisian, “one minute saved on the arrival of help means a 10% additional chance of survival in the event of a heart attack”.

“We feared that the plates would be stolen immediately”

So when in “in some places without an address we have ten or fifteen houses”recalls the independent mayor of Plouezoc’h (Finistère), Brigitte Mel, the minutes pass quickly… For M^me Mel, the safety of his fellow citizens is a decisive issue. Other arguments also justify the reform. “It’s mandatory for fiber”she assures. And everyone underlines the decisive role that home deliveries play today.

Moving on to practical work is another matter. Saint-Jean-d’Heurs had taken a lead. Everything had to be done: in this town, divided into around twenty localities, there was no street with a name. “We started from scratch and had complete freedom to choose a theme”notes Bernard Frasiak. It was music. Route Mozart, route Elvis-Presley, place Rouget-de-Lisle, rue Johnny-Hallyday (“We were afraid that the plates would be stolen immediately.”says the mayor), rue Madonna, impasse Mc-Solaar, etc. A « petite commission » made a list, and the elected officials went door-to-door to survey the 250 families in the town. “Some regretted that we had given up on local personalitiesadmits the mayor. Others complained: “Freddie Mercury is a drugged-out faggot!” or “Nina Simone is black, right?” But, overall, the population has “very largely” approved the choice, he assures, and the municipal council voted for the new addressing.

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