Crowdfunding first for local mairie

A CASH-strapped town hall near Paris claims to be the first in France to use crowd-funding to make ends meet.

Yèbles, in the Seine-et-Marne, is missing €40,000 from its €800,000 budget to rebuild its dilapidated local school - and the state has already given all the funding that it can.

The commune, which has a population of 800, has signed up on the online funding platform Mymajorcompany to appeal for donations from the public.

A promotional video has been filmed to explain why the money is needed - and donations so far have reached €6,500.

The new school would accommodate 125 pupils and needs to open in September 2015.

The town's mayor, Marieme Tamata-Varin, said: "State-funding for communes is in decline, and so are tax revenues. We sought every possible subsidy going and asked the help of local MPs and senators, but the budget has still not been found.

"Luckily these sorts of fund-raising schemes exist."

A biscuit factory in Normandy was saved from closure earlier this year thanks to crowd-funding - but Yèbles is believed to be the first local authority in France that has asked the internet for cash.