Random Checks

One morning recently while I was going about my daily shopping there were two traffic policemen positioned outside the town hall in Preuilly. They were doing random checks on vehicles and drivers. I've been stopped here myself in the past, the car checked over for obvious signs of unroadworthiness, insurance papers checked and I was breathalysed. The fact that I had a boot full of empty wine bottles that I was taking to the tip did not cause them to bat an eyelid. They even practiced their (really terrible) English on me.

I asked to photograph this pair and told them to prepare for global fame once they were on the blog, which made them laugh. Whilst I was chatting with them a local character drove by, apparently not wearing her seat belt. They obviously knew her and signalled that she should be wearing a seat belt by making pulling motions across their chest. She waved merrily and pulled aside her cardigan to reveal that she was indeed wearing a seat belt. Smiles all round and goodwill maintained.

On the town notice board, visible in the top photo, it shows that we are being censused. In France this is rolled out on a rotational basis. Everyone does the census every five years, but it's not one big national census conducted at the same time. The country is divided up so that each commune is only done once every five years. This year it is our turn and I did it on line a few weeks ago. It is important to do it because government funding for the community is largely based on census information.

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