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Tuesday, 22nd January 2008 (4443 views)

A total of £1 million in gold coins, cash, property and art has been left to the French village of Pellevoisin in an "astonishing" bequest that has its 900 residents talking, the Observer reports.

The coins were left in the will of Helene Louart, a local resident who, the newspaper says, was not thought to be wealthy.

However, the village must meet certain conditions before it receives a single franc of the fortune. The central avenue must be named after her, her favourite paintings must be hung in the mayor's office and her house may only be sold to "people from Paris".

Furthermore, some of the £1 million must be used to build housing for poorer families.

Elisabeth Petit, the owner of the village's restaurant and bar, told the paper: "I think [Mme Louart] had been in some tough situations when she was young and left the money to others in need."

The village mayor, Claude Roux, said the terms of the will would "have to be obeyed".

Pellevoisin's previous brush with the miraculous came in 1876, when local servant girl Estelle Faguette claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary.

 

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