Just when you expected to see that reason had prevailed in the bold, no-nonsense, red tapeless France of Nicolas Sarkozy's vision, a news report smacks you in the face with a reminder of how robust the barriers to commonsense can be.
From Aix-en-Provence comes a truly crackpot judgment that shows, though I am sure the translation doesn't work, that la justice française est une âne.
A court has found it possible, presumably while keeping a straight face, to decree that the Bar des Cascades in La Motte, a lovely village on the edge of the Gorges du Verdon, must close its doors because the distance between those doors and the entrance to the parish church is two metres shorter than required by the letter of the law.
In the words of my articles here, and in the Independent, Erick and Marion Beruti's café, which performs several useful functions in the daily life of the village, is two steps too close to God in the squinty eyes of the law.
The fine of 50 euros is neither here nor there. The order to close the bar calls to mind the bulkiest of sledgehammers being used to crack a nut.
Now we know why the appeal court in Aix took many weeks to decide a case that ought to have been thrown out in seconds. Some way had to be found to justify such an idiotically inflexible judgment that belongs to the writings of Pagnol.
In vain, I searched the reports for the rationale. In vain, I questioned Erick on his mobile phone. He was still in shock - "I feel utterly sick," he said - and simply could not give me the grounds on which the court had reached its decision.
I remain to be persuaded that sensible grounds can exist, but hold open a Salut! Forum slot for anyone in a position to know how ordinarily intelligent people are meant to understand the basis for the judgment. I am relying on early reports; maybe pearls of wisdom from the appeal court will very soon appear for all to see on the newswires and in newspaper columns.
Until then the facts, simply put, are these. A prefectoral bylaw sets the minimum distance at 40 metres from a bar to a church, school or prison. A lower court hearing that found in favour of the Berutis measured the distance in question, perhaps mischievously as if to show the stupidity of the case being brought in the first place, as 40 metres and three millimetres.
But even if we allow that the accurate measurement is indeed 38 metres, that overlooks the fact that any worshippers intent on murdering a cola, pastis or beer would almost certainly cover the route via the pavement, 82 or nearly 92 metres depending on whether they turned left or right on leaving Mass.
In sidestepping the obvious, reasonable conclusion, the appeal court has ignored the needs of La Motte's 2,400 inhabitants. The Bar des Cascades serves as café, with light snacks as well as drinks, tabac, newsagent and lottery sales point. It is, as Erick has said, "right at the heart of village life".
Never mind that the church had no objections, likewise the mairie across the same square from the bar. How could the church complain? After all, the priest calls there for his fags and paper and, on one occasion, popped in for some communion wine.
Never mind that the Berutis had already moved their business, at the council's request and to its entire satisfaction, from its original location next door to the church premises.
"I feel as if my legs have been broken," says Erick. "But I'm not going to close. As I understand it, I have the right to stay in business while I await an appeal to the high court of cassation."
Please let Salut! know if you hear any more about the reasons for this judgment. And if you think he'd listen, let Sarko know too. He has even more to put right in his country than I thought.
* Related articles:
Two steps too close to God
Are you listening, Monsieur le Président?
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