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Residents in Vendée village campaign against post office plans to downsize
‘It is important for elderly residents’ to keep local service
Residents of a commune in western France are organising against the planned downsizing of their local La Poste post office, and have created a petition to keep the current facilities in place.
Saint-Gervais (Vendée) is a commune of around 2,800 residents, north-west of Challans.
The post office is one of nearly 500 rural offices that have been highlighted for closure or downsizing by postal authorities.
There are plans to reduce services in Saint-Gervais from a full post office to a stripped-down ‘postal agency’ located in the library.
Locals argue that the post office is a vital point of the community, providing necessary services.
‘Losing the concept of a public service”
“They are offering us a 'postal point' at the library, but we have no idea which services will actually be retained. The post office is a vital local service,” said one resident, quoted in media outlet France Ici.
“It is an absolute scandal,” said another.
Residents have pointed out that the post office in Beauvoir-sur-Mer – around 6km away – is only open in the mornings, and staff at the library where the new postal point is set to be created do not have authorisation to handle certain transactions.
“It is one less service for the town, and one important for elderly residents who cannot easily travel elsewhere,” said the owner of the commune’s tabac.
“Lots of people are signing the petition,” he added, which will be presented to the mayor at the end of the month.
“La Poste is acting like a private company. We are losing the very concept of a public service,” said mayor Jean-Claude Fleury.
La Poste responds
La Poste has responded to residents’ concerns, and is so far firm in its decision.
“Changing lifestyles and consumption habits, a decline in the volume of mail, and the digitalisation of postal and banking operations have led to a drop in foot traffic at post offices,” it said, quoted in France Ici.
“In Saint-Gervais, the very low number of visits has prompted La Poste to adjust the format of its local branch.”
Residents will still be able to access most standard services, it said, including:
Picking up held letters and parcels
Purchasing postage and stamps; buying "ready-to-send" envelopes and packaging
Accessing La Poste Mobile products and services
Dropping off mail and parcels
Making cash withdrawals from current accounts
Staff at the library will be trained to handle their new tasks, La Poste said.
Where are other closures planned?
Earlier this year, the SUD-PTT union released a map of 471 La Poste branches it said are at risk of closure.
La Poste told The Connexion, however, that the list indicates locations where discussions with local authorities are planned to alter services to best suit local needs, and not a list of expected closures.
You can see the map in our article here, but note the Saint-Gervais office is not included.
Since the release of the list by SUD-PTT in September 2026, there has been no national update on the state of the post offices included.
La Poste has not provided a full list of post offices set to close, with decisions taken on an individual basis.
In cases where post offices are set to close or be altered, users will be informed through signs at the post office itself and possibly through the mairie.
