Remote Rochefourchat in the far south of the country has 6 stone dwellings, a non-functional phone-box, an old church - and just one permanent inhabitant, who was mayor until he resigned a couple of years ago. His replacement is a Paris lawyer who has a holiday home in the hamlet which continues to be designated a commune, and thus must have a mayor and local council. The seven councillors represent the total of seven families who are also holiday-homers.
Any public works (on laneways and the only street) are carried out (or financed) by the second-homers. The requisite 4 council meetings a year take place over a meal around a private table. There are few decisions to be taken
"We have direct democracy, as in ancient Athens," declared the mayor.
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