Residents of a tiny rural village in the heart of the Ardèche region, southeastern France, are fighting an Asterix-style battle to remain the country's "only mobile network-free zone" and a haven for sufferers of electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
With its ancient fortifications, winding streets and picturesque red roofs, Pailharès, population 280, looks like a village lost in time and space, cut off from the outside world by mountains.
Indeed, it is so isolated that some residents claim Pailharès is the last remaining "white zone" in France – a village almost totally devoid of electromagnetic waves.
However, the local authority has decided to put an end to Pailharès' wave-free status by erecting a mobile mast on a hill outside the village that will finally provide blanket reception.
"We have conducted a survey and 80 per cent of villagers are for this mast," said Richard Taton, deputy mayor. "We are in an isolated area where there is a lack of work, where the rural exodus is plain for all to see as there are no more young people in the countryside. We absolutely need access to new technologies to keep it alive."
Henry Samuel for The Telegraph
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