Nice to see worldwide coverage of the department, but
The cafe in the main square is empty by midafternoon. The hulks of burned-out cars dot the moribund train station’s tiny parking lot, abandoned by citizens too poor to maintain them.
that doesn't sound like the Guéret I know. It's a bit run down but it's not grim. A nothing like the poorer parts in Montluçon or Châteauroux.
It's worth noting that a couple can not get by on €1200 and month and a family just get by on €2700. Something concrete for Brits looking to retire here to think about.
I'm all for it - Paris seems to forget about the rest of the country and that's often reflected in the laws they force on everyone - right back to the "everyone must be on mains drainage" cobblers of 10 years ago. We all ended up spending €100 euros to be told that we were "non compliant" - something they knew before they came because they already didn't have the paperwork. This untrusting city based attitude is endemic in their thinking and it's no wonder that rural people are furious. It's been building for a long while and shouldn't be surprising that it's venting now the diesel they told everyone to use is now to be made too expensive.