REPORTAGE
He is about to sell a whole life of work ... for a symbolic euro. In Saint-Martin de Landelles, in the Channel, the only pharmacist of the town, Claude Le Poultier, should have stopped his activity five years ago, but he wished to continue not to give up his clientele. Today, he wants to retire. The problem ? He can not find anyone to succeed him.
After five long years looking for a successor, Claude Le Poultier made his decision: at age 71, he will hang up his blouse in December, with or without a buyer. "I work at least 10 hours a day and 50 hours a week," he explains as if to justify that nobody wants to take over. "We have a very close social contact job, which is not necessarily the case in a city where you do not have to be attached to a pharmacy. to understand, "adds the pharmacist at the microphone of Europe 1.
"There is everything you need to live well in Saint-Martin"
However, the only pharmacy in Saint-Martin de Landelles is profitable: with 1,200 inhabitants, the clientele is insured. "There is everything you need to live well in Saint-Martin," insists Mayor Jacky Bouvet. "We also have a doctor, a butcher, two groceries, a bakery, a bar-tobacco-press," says the city.
>> READ ALSO - Pharmacy closures at the highest level in 10 years
The potential disappearance of the pharmacy also worries the inhabitants. "It's very convenient to have the pharmacy next door, I hope he'll find," says Patrick, met in the bar-tobacco of St. Martin. In front of him, the boss of this place of life remains stoic. She who would like to retire in two years says she will have the same concern: "In France, we forget the countryside, no one wants to come here," she slipped unhappy.
But the hope of seeing a buyer put on the blouse is not permanently buried, since the media coverage around the history of pharmacy Claude Le Poultier has aroused the reaction of many people who come to learn and say they are interested in a reprise. The pharmacist's phone keeps ringing, he says.