Next month the newly elected mayor of Pellevoisin, a tiny village in the Loire valley, will sit down with his councillors to decide how to spend a windfall. Not a disagreeable task, one would think but the money comes with a catch: a list of conditions imposed by their benefactor, the late Hélène Louart.

By all accounts, Madame Louart, who died last June aged 100, had a habit of falling out with people. She disinherited her relatives many years earlier, even a charming niece who lives in the village. The next beneficiary was to be the local convent, but then Madame Louart took a dislike to the mother superior. So instead, she left all her money to the local municipality.

As no one had any inkling she was wealthy, this did not pose a problem until probate revealed that Madame Louart had property, cash, art and gold coins worth at least £1M. But with the gift comes a series of obligations imposed on the village if they want to see a penny of her money.

First, the house, just off the main street, can only be sold to “people from Paris,” where Madame Louart spent most of her life, living in sin with an upmarket tailor. Those local inhabitants with aspirations to buy her attractive property will not be permitted to do so.

Second, the main street, presently known as Avenue de la République, will have to be renamed Avenue Louart, after their benefactor. Many of the local residents find this proposal totally repugnant.

Third, her favourite paintings, including what is believed to be an unprepossessing portrait of Madame Louart herself, will have to be hung in the mayor’s parlour for the next ten years.

Even if all these conditions are met, Pellevoisin will still not have unfettered use of the Louart riches. Half the money is to be spent on building council houses, to be let for almost nothing to destitute families. Many of the wealthier residents of Pellevoisin complain that this will change the character of the village entirely, and not for the better.

The village is divided on what to do. One frequent visitor to the local bar-restaurant Chez Babette described Madame Louard as a witch. “She always hated the village,” he said “It’s a wicked form of revenge.”

From our February 2008 e-newsletter