Var resident leaves €2.5m to his commune - on one condition
The 95-year-old Var resident requested that the money is used to build a welcome centre for elders
The man left the money on condition it would be used to build a community centre for elderly people to combat loneliness
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A Frenchman who passed away in February has left €2.5 million to his commune, one on condition - that they build a welcome centre for elderly people using the money.
Marcelin Arthur Chaix passed away at the age of 95, and left the considerable sum to his commune of Tourrettes, close to Grasse (Var, Alpes-Maritimes).
‘Day centre to fight elderly loneliness’
He wanted a welcome centre for older people, a local official explained.
“We're not talking about an [elderly care home] Ehpad, but a small structure, a place to live and meet for senior citizens, who are often faced with loneliness,” the official said.
The commune has confirmed that it is honouring Mr Chaix’s request.
Local councillors have agreed that the site will be built and attached to the existing community centre, which already hosts one of the oldest clubs for senior citizens in the Pays de Fayence. The legacy money will go towards extending and improving the centre.
It will also be used to recruit three new members of staff for the centre, which he imagined as a kind of “day nursery for the elderly”.
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Another fortune
It comes less than a year after the commune of Roquefort-les-Pins, in the neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes department, also received a large donation from one of its late residents.
A woman who died at the age of 100 in June 2023 named the town as the sole recipient of her estimated €8 million fortune.
She also left conditions for the money. Firstly, she asked that her funeral monument be well-maintained and cared for, and secondly, that the commune open a school or rest home for the disabled.
