Streakers are no joke in Corps-Nuds
Towns with amusing names reveal some of the sobering problems they face over a glass of wine in Vinsobres
ALTHOUGH it raises a smile for people to have their photograph taken in the nude beside the sign for the Brittany village of Corps-Nuds, it is getting beyond the joke for the local community.
British streakers are causing problems in the Ille-et-Vilaine commune as they pose beside the sign as they head on holiday – and others are causing problems in the 40 or so French towns with funny names who are facing problems of vandalism.
An association representing the towns – which includes others such as Poil (naked), Monteton (my boob), Arnac-la-Poste (postal fraud) and Lorgies (orgies) – met at Vinsobres (sober wine) in Drôme for their annual meeting.
Vinsobres, a town of just 1,500, was taken over by 15,000 visitors from the Association des Communes de France aux Noms Burlesques et Chantants and they shared some of the problems they face.
Max Roussel, former mayor of Latronche (slang for face) in Corrèze, said it was a “chase to make a name for themselves, even if the town’s name caused fun, and it could draw tourists and sell regional products”.
At Poil in Nièvre the best-selling postcard says Tous à Poil (everybody naked!) and some people have fun with marriage notices saying M. et Mme X se sont mariés à Poil (Mr and Mrs X were married naked).
However, the mairie said it was always getting the town signs stolen and generally lost two a year, at a cost of €300 each. One year it even lost nine signs in one month.
