Island refuses to move with times

THE CLOCKS may have moved forward an hour on Sunday, but one small corner of France refused to travel in time with the rest of the country.

The tiny island of Molène, 15km off the Brittany coast near Brest, has maintained its age-old tradition of using ‘solar’ time, which means it now, officially at least, lags two hours behind the rest of the country.

One of the island’s 204 residents, Cécile Masson, 78, whose family own the island’s only hotel and restaurant, believes that it is healthier to live in harmony with the sun.

She said: “People are surprised at first, but quickly adapt to our way of life.”

Mme Masson was born on the island, but has travelled all over the world on business, and said she prefers living her life by the sun.

Photo: Pierre-Arnaud Gillet