A Country Story, Or Two (And Vaccines)
They say nothing ever happens in the countryside, but of course that’s most often said by city folk who’ve never lived here. And the concept of rural peace and tranquility are in the eye of the beholder, or perhaps the crow of a rooster if the now-famous (and sadly deceased) Maurice is to be believed.
If you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, you’ve clearly missed the news.
This week saw the end of a case that started back in 2017 and gripped the entire nation for years. It’s a captivating story that inflamed passions, rocked the French countryside, and ended with a piece of legislation that could only happen here.
It’s not the only news that happened this week of course.
Dad got a rather important stab, and we had a lovely visit from our new Maire and his 1ère adjointe, who brought freshly-made artisanal chocolates and info on all the work they plan to do in the area over next year. Darn impressive for a commune of only 61 people.
All this is the essence of living in rural France, a place with more pride, community and passion than you could ever imagine from the outside. It’s a wonderful spot to be and it all starts with the story of Maurice.
Don’t Mess With Rural France
Maurice was a most handsome fowl.
He was a picture-perfect rooster with a crown of fiery red and eyes that pierced your soul. He lived on the Island of Oléron, just off the coast of SW France and he was dedicated to his ladies, crowing religiously at the break of dawn every morning to rouse and establish his territory. His owner was justifiably proud of the hard-working young bird, but one set of neighbors were apparently not so enthused.
Jean-Louis and Joelle Biron were vacationers, retired city-dwellers that came to the island to pass the hot summer months, and they claimed that Maurice was making an “abnormal racket”, disturbing the very peace they came to the countryside to enjoy. A dispute started that eventually escalated to court. And what ensued was a monumental fight that would immortalize the young rooster forever more.
Over the following two years the two sides clashed and Maurice became became an icon of French rural pride. He was not just a rooster, but an emblem of the ever-increasing tension between rural folk who keep the heartbeat of traditional France alive, and city folk who clearly have no clue and want to ruin it all. How dare they come to the countryside and tell us how to live!
As you can imagine the populous splintered into hardline opposing factions, and the debate became passionate. Petitions were signed, “Team Maurice” T-shirts were printed with the words “Let me sing” and “Je suis Maurice”, speeches were made, mayors got involved and the whole country became enthralled with the story. Finally in Sept 2019, Maurice was vindicated and the plaintiffs forced to pay €1,000 in damages. He would be be allowed to crow in freedom forever more.
It was a brilliant victory, but Maurice’s story was far from over!
His plight had ignited a torch of French rural pride, and that flame was taken to the L’Assemblée Nationale, where a bill was introduced to protect the “sensory heritage of the countryside” (“le patrimoine sensoriel des campagnes françaises”). In January of last year it was unanimously voted through and this week it was finally, definitively adopted into law by Le Parlement. Maurice, now sadly departed to the rainbow land of roosters that were, had been immortalized in history forever more.
So yes, thanks to a rooster and a complaint from a city dweller, the sounds and smells of the countryside are now an official part of French National Heritage. That includes church bells, roosters crowing, agricultural machines, the bleating of sheep, the singing of crickets, the smell of straw and even the odor of cow dung. Anyone who lives here should expect it and any “néo-ruraux”, or city tourists who decide to vacation out here, better darn well be prepared for it.
Ah oui, a story as wonderfully French as it gets, and with the most wonderfully French of outcomes. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, we were always Team Maurice. Naturellement…
Dad Got Vaccinated!
The other thing we got to celebrate this week was dad’s first coronavirus jab. Wheeee!
It was a bit of a project to get it all done.
As you probably know, France has been rather slow in ramping up their vaccination program, launching in phases from older folks to the young. Last week they announced eligibility for over 75’s, albeit with a far-too-small quantity of vaccines (~1 million). So I hovered on doctorlib like a hawk and managed to nab one of the very first slots that popped up. Mere hours later the whole month was booked out, and the next day the site crashed with no more appointments available (it’s since come back online).
A lucky break!
Tuesday 19th was the big day. We motored ~1/2 hour to the hospital and their brand-new vaccination center, which turned out to be a garage that looked like it had been very rapidly set-up. There was a check-in desk, a line of chairs, a questionnaire desk (where a doc asks you about your medical history), and a “vaccination room” boarded off by plastic drapes.
A rather chaotic process followed, and we waited more than an hour and a half past our appt time to get the shot, plus an extra 15 mins to check for any post-jab reactions. Not exactly pretty, but it was done and dad was superbly happy after. He had zero side-effects too.
For those curious dad got the Pfizer vaccine, so according to the trail data around 2 weeks from now he should have around 50% immunity. Once he gets his 2nd shot (currently scheduled ~4 weeks from now) he’ll slowly ramp that up over 90%. Outstanding!
As for us, it may be a while. The government claims that everyone who wants it will be vaccinated by Sept, but here are already rumors of vaccine shortages, and plans to delay the 2nd jab up to 6 weeks to get more people in.
Even the doctors themselves are skeptical. When I asked at the hospital about dad’s 2nd jab, the response was rather unreassuring; “S’il y en a” (“if there are any”). Yikes! All a bit concerning, especially since the tested vaccine protocol is much less than this (3 weeks between jabs for Pfizer, 4 weeks for Moderna), but hey, what can you do?
In the meantime we’ll just cross our fingers dads’ 2nd jab goes ahead as scheduled, and we’ll keep going as we have. I’ve upgraded all our masks to N95’s (extra protection against the new more-virulent strains running around) and we’ll stick to our bubble friends and local area until the nationwide numbers get under control. One down, five to go.
Keep on swimming, keep on swimming…..
A Visit From the Maire
The final thing we got to celebrate this week was our wonderful, rural (yes!) community.
As of last year have a new Maire, together with a young group of motivated folks in the conseil municipal, and they have serious plans. We know all of them of course, as one does in a small village and they’re all perfectly lovely peeps.
This week he came around with his 1ère adjointe (a lovely gal that lives on the hill opposite to us) to greet all his constituents in person, and deliver a care package. Such a cool gesture.
I have to admit it’s taken time to integrate into our little community, but I really, truly appreciate it now. We were darn lucky to end up here, a couple of ex-city folks who happened to fall into a really nice, rural French area.
We may not be natural-born country folk, or even French, but we are totally Maurice and here for all the local stuff, that is one victory I’m very happy to be part of. Vive Maurice, Vive the countryside!
How are you all this week? Did any of you get your 1st jab of vaccine? How did it go? And what do you think of Maurice? I know many of you are country folk and can appreciate the win. DO share you thoughts and feelings below.
I agree re: “protect the “sensory heritage of the countryside” . Every place needs this.
Maybe even a law preventing newcomers from voting on local matters for a few years until they understand its heritage. I’ve seen too many escapee’s from California who immediately try to change the area they just moved to.
I do so enjoy your posts. Thanks for keeping us informed about “ important” things. Deb
Well, now rural people have something to crow about. I agree with this decision 100% and think it should also apply to people who move next to an existing airport and complain about noise. Dulles In’t Airport about 30 miles from Washington, DC is a prime example of the above. It was constructed in a rural area with very few people living nearby. I didn’t live near the airport but I was fishing on the Potomac River one morning when the French Concorde departed and flew over my boat. WOW! What a roar it put out. I loved the sound.
I enjoy your writing style and have recommended your blog to many friends. Keep it up.
Yeah it’s a good point. I’ve never understood folks who move near an airport and then complain about the noise. Same with city noise…it’s part of what makes the city!
Nina
I had just read the article about Maurice about 30 minutes before seeing your blog post. City people should not expect the country to be like the city – that’s why you went there, right?
AZ is lagging on vaccine availability as is most of the US. It’s fairly grim. California has doses left, but seemingly can not figure out how to deliver. Hopefully the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be approved and available soon, since it’s a single shot and has no extreme temperature requirements.
Winter arrived today in Tucson, it’ll probably stick around until Thursday.
Vaccine shortages seem to be everywhere at the moment, although I think they’re probably even more dire here in France than the USA. I’ve got a ton of older friends on FB who can’t even find a slot to get vaccinated (and they’re all over 75). I really hope the supply gets sorted out soon.
Nina
So happy your dad has had his first shot! My aunt and uncle in the UK have had both if theirs, and reported feeling fine after the first, but really crappy the say after the second. Just for a day, followed by a fairly typical post vaccine sore arm. After that they have felt fine. So when your dad (eventually) has his second short, he may not feel good the next day. Just a heads up !
I’ve already warned dad that the 2nd shot may have some after-effects. From what I’ve read it’s pretty common, as the immune system reacts to the shot.
Nina
I’m reminded of those who move to the countryside, downwind from a pig farm, and then proceed to complain of the stench. Or even in the city, those who move in next to a school and then complain of the noisy kids. I do like the idea of a “heritage” law. Totally understandably French. Vive les coqs!
There’s always a few. Here in France it’s often cow farms, and then folks complain of the stench or the flies (always lots of flies with cows)! I do wonder how big a problem it really is. I mean I do know it became a very big case here (and was talked about everywhere), but how many city folk are there in the countryside? Maybe more because of COVID? It’s an interesting question.
Nina
Go Maurice! We kind of have the same problem here in Congress, Az believe it or not. So many people are coming from out of state and they almost all have the mentality of “Well, that is not how we do it in Wyoming”! (pick your state) I have to bit my tongue and not say “Well, guess what….you are in Arizona now)….lol My mom who is 90 has an date at the Arizona Cardinal stadium for her 1st shot on Feb 11 at 2;39 am ! lol…we took it and glad to get it!
Glad your mom got a date!! Only a few weeks away, so not far at all.
Nina
First of all, yay for your Dad! So happy to hear this news.
As for the rest…Go Maurice!! Having grown up VERY country (cows in the field next door and “marmottes” in the creek), in rural Quebec, Canada, I totally get the desire to keep life simple and pure. I’m glad to hear that the simple life won out. Though I could do without the all consuming cow manure odor on those windy days… 🙂
Yeah cow dung is not the most pleasant of smells. Makes for great fertilizer though…
Nina
I’m glad your Dad got his vaccine. I hope he gets part 2 in a timely manner and you both get yours soon.
We got our first Moderna vaccines and they immediately set up our followup appointments for 4 weeks later. There are advantages to living in a senior community where all we had to do was show up at our assigned time slot. We did have to wait longer than predicted because someone in an earlier time slot had a bad reaction so they had to shout down while dealing with that. No side effects for us other than tenderness at the injection site.
That couple made the think of all the “boondockers” who insist on running contractor generators: “Of course, my needs and wants are more important than yours.”
Don’t get me started on boondocking etiquette LOL….I could go on for hours.
Nina
My husband and I got our vaccinations on Saturday. I am 68 and my husband is 66. We live in the county north of Dallas county. Our county has about a million people and had the lowest percentage of vaccine distribution in Texas a couple of weeks ago.
Texas put people 65 and older in the 1B category. When it became clear that the state was going away from individual providers to vaccine hubs for mass inoculation our county pivoted and was able to secure a partnership with a medical company that helped the county set up a hubs in about a week! They also complained effectively to the state to increase the amount of vaccine being shipped to the county.
We were able to sign up in the first five thousand when our county website was announced and we’re among the people vaccinated in the first week at our city’s hub. Because it’s so new, we received our invitation to sign up on Thursday, signed up on Friday and were vaccinated on Saturday!
We do not have a date for our second dose as of yet because the system is so new. We were given the Moderna vaccine so the optimal time frame for the second dose is 28 days. Hopefully there will be vaccine available when the time comes.
Great to hear your town was able to turn-around so quickly on distribution. It’s been a slow start in many states, but I’m heartened to hear the stories of how quickly they’re ramping up. Florida was the same. Very slow & chaotic start, but now more and more centers are coming online. Fingers and paws crossed for your 2nd shot.
Nina
With the influx of Californians to Montana there has been several rural versus city wars. Mike has had his first vaccine and we are thinking we totally lucked out when friends told us about the local pharmacy having the vaccine. Arizona is a hot spot and the CDC has recommended they vaccinate anyone over 65–that’s me. Tucson has dropped the ball and I could not find an appointment anywhere, nor have I been able to find a spot in our county. So–it’s off to Phoenix (a 3 hour drive) for me on February 3.
That three hour drive is not going to be much fun, but I’m right with you. If we get a slot here in France we’re ready to drive just about anywhere to get it.
Nina
We get the “neo-rurals” here in Ontario too. Either moving to the country or building a weekend place next to an operating farm and then they complain about the smells, noise, dust, etc. We call them citiots.
Citiots….oh my….that gave me a good giggle.
Nina
Wonderful post. Love the story of Maurice, the Rooster. In the Willamette Valley we have the advantage of living about 20 minutes from great trout fishing and lovely farmland. Our garden day is on Tuesdays and eight of us travel from the city to a friend’s farm where we garden, feed the animals, and help with cleanup. It supplies us with most of our fresh produce and most importantly great comradery. But…your special place in France sounds even more inviting! Thanks again for your wonderful shares.
As someone who was brought up in the suburbia of southern England and then moved for 10 years to the Yorkshire Dales, I would’ve been there with the Maurice supporters. It was a village of 56 houses, three farms (Townend Farm, Lowthorpe Farm and Waterloo Farm), a butcher, a general shop/post office, a primary school, one pub and a vicarage. Each of the farms tended to produce a different odour, which was handy because I could then tell which way the wind blew it was blowing depending on what I could smell. I decided from the outset, although unusually for most of the village, I was buying my house (they were all farm tenants), I considered I was a visitor living in their home. They wrote the rules and I followed them. Passing any villager on the village green without passing the time of day, was practically a capital offence. About 15 years after I moved in, the landlady of the inn died. She was the 3rd generation of her family to run the inn. I was invited by the family to be one of the four coffin bearers. A great honour. Boy, did that coffin weigh a ton! The undertaker refurbished an early 19th century hand-drawn hearse and the local policeman followed the cortege dressed in a 19th century police uniform. And a lovely touch that I had never seen before. Every house in the village closed their curtains for the duration of the funeral.
Back to this week. This afternoon I received a text message from my local doctor offering me a jab. A link took me to the list of times that were available. Three on Friday evening and four on Saturday morning. So a totally hasslefree slick process.
There’s a code of honor in the countryside which runs very deep, and customs that are shared from generation to generation. I think that’s true of any small village in just about any country. We’re still learning all the ins and outs here!
Fabulous story about your house in the Yorkshire Dales. Thanks for sharing it!
Nina
YOur Maurice story reminds me of when Was in Paris as a veery young girl and was waiting t get my mail at the local AmericanExpress store (that was how they dd it then) when I heard a large loud booming male voice saying “what o you mean you don’t have $20. dollar bills….that’s what we haven America”
We got the shot …not a problem signing up and very fast when we went and received it…. gave us our next appointment right then…we are Pfizer so it is in 3 weeks… Some times it pays to live in a very small rural town..
SO happy you got the shot and have the 2nd already scheduled! Loved you little story about the American Express store. Had no idea mail was handled that way back then.
Nina
CDC is stating that up to 42 days can elapse between shots…see the below link to a CDC publication.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/clinical-considerations.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvaccines%2Fcovid-19%2Finfo-by-product%2Fpfizer%2Fclinical-considerations.html
Yeah I saw the new CDC recommendations. My concern however is that a 42-day interval has not (to my knowledge) been tested clinically, so there is simply no way to know how effective the protection will be when that delay is introduced. All the Pfizer data (trial data etc.) that I’ve been able to find has used a 3-week interval, and the European Medicines Agency has also confirmed that the 3-week interval should be honored. I know some countries are delaying the 2nd dose (so they can vaccinate more people), but what will be the result of this in terms of immunity? We truly don’t know.
Nina
Loved reading the story of Maurice! We are currently in a long-term rental that is a duplex. The folks on the other side have a rooster and four hens. Thankfully, their rooster doesn’t wake us up, and I enjoy hearing his crows and seeing them all scratching around the yard for bugs. The only downside of all this is that they do leave us little “gifts” around the yard that our blind dog manages to sniff out and scarf down before I notice, at times. I try to pick them up in her poop bags if I see them before she does! We are in North Carolina, and my 86-year old mother has received her first jab, but vaccines are in short supply around here, so it will probably be late spring or even summer before I can get mine, since I am in the last group (<65 with no serious pre-existing conditions).