France in Focus

I have today written one of these to my Mairie.
The new contractors for fauchage have managed to munch through 15 metres of my fencing.
Not a word of apology or notification that they had done it.
I had to send pictures which
1 is difficult to do as the fencing is grey and not photogenic
2 is difficult to send as the system the mairie uses can’t cope with photos in emails
I have got someone ready to do the repair next week and I’ll probably end up paying for it as I can’t imagine the local Communite de Communes doing anything less than sending me a massive questionnaire to fill in and organising an on site meeting the year after next.
We will see…..

It’s just laughable. I’ve had a devis. 300 euros which I suspect we will end up paying.
Soon after I sent that to the mairie I got a call from some bloke at the dept of works for roads in the communities de communes. Oh he said - this is nothing to do with us. It’s between you and the subcontractor. You can’t just go off and get someone to do the work. Well I accept that bit but why is it that I have to deal with a subcontractor with whom I have no contract and no name? Oh that’s the law in France he says.
I laughed.
He gave me a name but I have googled it and can’t find any enterprise.

Before you act, it may be wise to contact the local dept technical service to confirm the road boundry. Otherwise you may find they request you relocate your new fence. This happened to a friend who was also threatened with serious fines if he did not comply. This, of course is if the road is a department responsible road. I do not know if it would be a problem if it is a commune road.

Most communes have a permanence juridique with a self-employed avocat (independent) there to advise you. If (s)he's not immediately available, tell the maire you're taking legal advice. That might shake them up a bit.
Also, contact the service voirie to find out the name of the person who contacted you.

Polarengineer - the fence has been there since 2008. Numerous fauchage have taken place without any problems. The fence was installed in consultation with the mairie. It’s a commune road single track with big banks on either side.
MAD87 I have a question placed with my protection juridique. My maire is giving up next year so isn’t really interested. There’s a lot of obfuscation going on.

Have you got photos of how it was before ? You should be able to get a devis for the repairs without obligation to go ahead.
Naturally the Maire will try to wriggle out of any responsibility, especially if it comes to paying out.
Hope the protection juridique will help - and if all else fails, will your insurance cover you ?

I spoke to the maire this afternoon. In a forceful way.
I told him what the guy from the Communite de communes said and he was aghast.
He said no way should I be dealing with a sub contractor. He will contact the cdc on Monday.
I await a response from my Protection Juridique.

Well done, Headers, fingers crossed for you.

I received an SMS from M. le maire this evening. He has spoken to the subcontractor, sent him my letter and photos and says that the guy will contact me and repair the fence.

As a backup plan, my garden contractor who I have spent a small fortune with over the years has said he will do it for nothing if this doesn’t work out.

My blood pressure should be back to normal levels by Monday !

Well done!!