Our Village - Tourrettes

Written by Mike Meade

In another of our features on Riviera villages, Mike Meade visits Tourrettes-sur-Loup, meets the mayor and a few local expats.

Nestled between Vence and Bar sur Loup, Tourrettes is one of many attractive Riviera hill towns. What sets this village apart is its authenticity. It's attractive and pleasant without the over-manicured postcard slickness of St Paul or Eze.

Mayor José Bertaina, (photo) a retired butcher and hotelier and a third generation Tourrettain, has been active in municipal affairs since 1989. He keeps a close eye on this authenticity: "You have to maintain a balance between progress and environment in a place like this. The commune must evolve without selling its soul."

One of the mayor's ways of keeping it genuine is City Hall's pre-emption of street side cellars in the old village for conversion into shops. "We know that visitors want not only a lovely old village, but also a couple of decent restaurants and some good local shopping so we are converting these cellars for renting out to craftsmen." Mayor Bertaina particularly wants a traditional glassblower in the village.

The commune has a population of 4300, 400 of whom live in the old village itself. About 600 residences are holiday homes and, while the mayor recognises the economic interest of this, he is attentive that renovations don't disfigure the local architectural heritage. Roof tiles must be traditional roman (not flat-styled) and solar panels are banned from rooftops.

The expat factor
About 10% of residents are expats and "as long as they integrate and accept the local ways" Bertaina is happy with this. Last year he even held a special apéritif for the foreign residents.

"What we don't want is property speculation by wealthy foreigners. If you buy to live here, that's fine, but speculation drives up the prices to levels that the young locals can't afford." And there are indeed many young people in this commune which boasts 3 schools, a community centre, a maison des jeunes and about 45 sports and cultural associations.

The mayor is also not adverse to having a resident expat or two on the municipal council but - like so many of his counterparts in other Riviera towns - is disappointed that foreigners show little interest in local affairs. Of the 400 or so who were eligible to vote in the last municipal election, only 5 expats actually did so. He learned from me with some dismay that a 1 to 1,5% turnout is the norm in other Riviera towns as well.

A relaxing place to live
Tourrettes is relaxed and easy-going with all the habitual sides - both good and bad - of provençal village life. When I showed the mayor our 100th cover showing Tourrettes' resident and British centenarian John Millar he was quick to point out that the small population still comprises several over-100s. Life here doesn't wear you out before your time.

There is little crime locally but the 2 local coppers and active co-operation with neighbouring communes by way of a "communauté d'agglomeration" helps to fight what there is. This co-operation works in other areas as well: rubbish collection, environmental protection, public transport. The surrounding mayors meet regularly and know each other personally. This exchange of visits sometimes takes an unforeseen turn: "Mayor Daunis of Valbonne - a dear friend - met his British wife here in Tourrettes."

Sharing resources with other communes is also a way to make the most of the limited local budget. Business taxes bring in only 130,000 euros a year and the biggest local contributor is the sweets factory (confiserie) at Pont du Loup. "There's never enough money to finance everything" the mayor lamented, and every day brings a new problem. Some of them are quite unexpected. In a village this small, everyone knows everyone else by sight, and the mayor is constantly solicited in the street for one thing or another. The demands are often financial and Bertaina is wary of many. "It's those who give to the commune before they ask anything of it who I take most seriously. You know Wayne, of course." Indeed I do but I was nevertheless rather disconcerted that the mayor singled him out in this context and with quite such a blatantly appreciative tone. The feeling, I later learned, is mutual.

Not everyone meets with the mayor's approval. When the village published a fictional story about a wolf (loup) named Barnabé who was put on a leash by a little boy and led through the streets (you can still see the footprints), Brigitte Bardot raised her animal rights' banner in anger all the way from St Tropez.

For a village mayor every day brings a new and unexpected problem. Indeed.