Red tape drags French village forward

By Hugh Schofield

Modernity and bureaucracy have finally arrived in a tiny corner of southern France.

Murles: conquered by the computer

The 230 people who live in the village of Murles, near the city of Montpellier, have been told that for the first time in their history, they must choose names for their streets.

For more than 1,000 years, the village has managed perfectly well without street signs and the change has prompted some misgivings.

There are about 20 streets - or perhaps alleyways is better - in Murles, and since the first local warlord built the castle which still overlooks the scene more than a millennium ago, no-one has bothered denominating them for the simple reason that everyone knew where everyone else lived.

The postman had no difficulty and if a delivery had to be made, the locals would arrange a meeting in front of the village hall which was, in any case, just around the corner.

Named or ignored

So might things have gone on for another 1,000 years, were it not for that universal engine of change - the computer.

Suddenly, residents were being told that at the water authority or the electricity board, their accounts could not be computed because an important box on the screen was always being left empty.

In the Europe of the 21st Century, it was clear it is impossible not to have a street to identify oneself by.

And so, led by the mayor, the village of Murles has reluctantly given way and they have now begun choosing the 20-odd names.

The old familiarity, past the shop round the corner, halfway to the cemetery, will no doubt be replaced by the clinical Mitterrand this and Charles de Gaulle that.

It will be a sad day - but, the people can reflect, at least their bills will arrive on time.