Wonder widow

Marie-Françoise Cramoysan has been named “Virtuous Widow of the Year 2022”, following a 70-year-old tradition in the village of Onzain, Loir-et-Cher. It all began when a widow named Marie Lecoq chose to donate her farmland to the village before her death in 1952. The woman’s will also specified that the benefit of the land rental would be offered each year to a deserving widow. This widow would be chosen by a committee of notables: the pharmacist, the fire captain, the notary, the mayor, the doctor and the Catholic priest. For the first time, in the year 2023, a woman will join this committee, as the village’s new pharmacist is a lady. Commissioned by Le Monde magazine. Oct. 2023