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At first, the story seemed quite mundane, a simple matter of sending a package. But quickly, it became emblematic of an administration with Kafkaesque mazes.
In the small village of Sainte-Marnotte, in the department of Yonne, Mr. Dupond decided to send a package to his friend on the other side of the country. Nothing out of the ordinary, one might think. However, what happened next was beyond comprehension.
Mr. Dupond went to the village post office to ship his package. Upon arrival, he was informed that he needed to fill out a form at the shipping office in the neighboring commune of Sainte-Poularde, as Sainte-Marnotte did not handle packages over 5 kg. However, once he arrived in Sainte-Poularde, he was told that he needed to obtain a stamp from the post office in Sainte-Marnotte to confirm his identity. Faced with his confusion, the employee in Sainte-Poularde simply replied, “I know, it’s strange, but that’s how it works.”
Back in Sainte-Marnotte, another employee told him that he did not need a stamp, but rather should go to the package distribution office in Sainte-Picarde to obtain some sort of exemption. It was then that Mr. Dupond, exhausted by this pointless journey, declared, “I could have walked to my friend’s house with my package in less time than it took me to understand the logic of this labyrinthine administration.”
This story perfectly illustrates the Kafkaesque absurdity of administration, where rules sometimes seem to be created to confuse rather than to facilitate work. It serves as a reminder that the system can sometimes be more of an obstacle than a tool in service of the citizens.
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