GENNES

Homo Sapiens checks out a property he might like to buy.

Gennes was delightful. Rich had been there several weeks earlier to pay our water bill. Our small town water company was acquired by Veolia, a giant multinational corporation. Their regional headquarters are in Gennes so Rich had to go there to set up the automatic payment.. He was very excited to discover a dolmen that he wanted me to see.





Gennes was a Gallo-Roman settlement in the day. There is a Roman amphitheatre just outside the village but we could not get to see it. There is also a Rue de Nymphée that runs up a hill to a small church that probably was built on the foundations of a temple dedicated to water spirits.

Gennes is notable for another reason. The bridge over the Loire was defended by a group of cadets from the Cavalry School during the Battle of France. Their task was simply to slow the advance of the Germans which they did. Their sacrifice is commemerated in the churchyard of St. Eusebe (The Moroccan soldiers who also participated are barely mentioned, however).