Couple in France unable to receive post as home ‘too dangerous’ to access
La Poste said the decision had been made to protect its workers
The couple have been living at their 'dangerous' home in Haute-Loire for five years, with postal delivery being suspended in August
Sibuet Benjamin / Shutterstock
A couple living in the south of France has not received any post to their home for almost four months, as the road to their front door has been judged to be “too dangerous” for postal workers to access.
Gaëlle Lecomte and Mickaël Foucault live at the top of a hill in an area known as lieu-dit Le Treuil, in the village of Mazeyrat-d’Allier (Haute-Loire), up a 100-metre-long track that has been described as “too steep, impassable, and dangerous” by La Poste.
‘Lieu-dit’ literally translates as ‘area called’ or ‘known as’ in French, and is typically used for an area, hamlet, or road that does not have an official address, but is known as a particular name locally.
These are common in France, but recent changes in rules about home addresses in rural areas mean they are now falling out of use.
Postal worker protection
The couple has been living at the address for five years. Yet, they claim that it has only now been judged as too dangerous, after receiving notice of the decision on August 26.
La Poste let the couple know that deliveries would stop – ironically with a letter. It stated that the decision had been made “in accordance with the general terms and conditions of sale applicable to La Poste's postal and parcel services, we regret to inform you that we are suspending delivery to your home”.
It said that the decision had been made to protect postal workers.
Gaëlle and Mickaël believe the decision is unfair especially given postal workers already drive part of the way up their road to deliver to other houses nearby and have been delivering post for years before now, they told local newspaper La Montagne.
Mr Foucault said: “There were no problems when we moved in five years ago so why is it suddenly causing issues? The postal worker can drive…safely to our house. There is a right of way at all times near our letterbox.
We are not the only house in the municipality with this layout and at this altitude.”
La Poste defended its decision when contacted, saying that the couple had been warned in November 2024 that their driveway was unsafe for postal vehicles and workers.
“Access by car requires a U-turn on private land that is impassable and dangerous,” it said.
Missing appointments and open parcels
The pair say that they have been forced to collect their post from the neighbouring village of Langeac in the past four months, and report that the items are often in poor condition, including letters left unreadable, parcels that have been opened or damaged, or delivered to the wrong person.
“Last week, I went to pick up a parcel and was told, ‘It is in the postman’s van’. So he is not allowed to deliver it, but he takes it with him on his round.” said Ms Lecomte.
She also said that she has missed medical appointments and tests because urgent letters are often late, damaged, or never arrive.
New letterboxes?
A solution has been presented to the local mairie in which letterboxes are installed at the bottom of the hill for all the houses on the street in question, said Ms Lecomte, adding “La Poste said [the installation] is in progress.
“I want it to be installed as soon as possible so we don’t end up putting our children’s Christmas presents under the tree in January…”
When contacted, La Poste said: “We are scheduling this installation for the near future.”
