# From now on, the bell tower will chime at 8:03 a.m.: the town council settles the matter after six months of debate

In Saint-Riquiqui, the copper rooster in the square has been four minutes fast since the last repair.
Residents, the baker, and the pétanque club have finally found a compromise — give or take a minute.

The matter seemed tiny, but it had split the village ever since the bell in the bell tower rang at 8:07 a.m. instead of 8:03 a.m. For market regulars, the delay throws off the opening of the cheese stall; for the pétanque players, it encroaches on the ideal time slot when the court stays in the shade.

Gathered Tuesday evening in the village hall, residents considered three solutions: move the copper rooster, change the bell’s time, or ask the baker to delay the first batch. The last option was ruled out after a test that left 23 croissants “too aware of their fate,” according to the minutes.

The agreed compromise is to set the bell to 8:03 a.m. while keeping the rooster as is. “We’re not entirely in agreement, but at least now we know exactly which minute we don’t agree on,” summed up Mireille Boursin, president of the pétanque club.

The adjustment will be made Saturday, after the market. The municipality specifies that a check will be carried out in six months, unless the rooster starts running fast again — in which case the village will “decide after coffee.”