“They’re calling from everywhere”… In Alsace, the last telephone box in France “is ringing non-stop”

In Murbach (Haut-Rhin),

Since last summer, it has become one of the most visited monuments in Murbach. The beautiful Romanesque abbey founded in the 8th century that stands in the middle of this village in Haut-Rhin? No! A simple telephone box like those that existed everywhere in France until about twenty years ago.

Except that this one has a particularity: it no longer has glass doors and is above all the last one in service on the territory. Not because its historical operator forgot, whose name is still affixed to it, “France Télécom”. Orange left it because no mobile network passes through this valley near the Grand Ballon d’Alsace. However, emergency services must be reachable everywhere…

“We are in a dead zone,” confirms the deputy mayor, Esmeralda Mura. “In some places, you can manage to get a signal, but otherwise, you have to go back towards Buhl, the neighboring town. But we have fiber!” The municipality has also installed Wi-Fi hotspots in the town of 168 inhabitants, while waiting for something better.

“What a joy to no longer be reachable”

The telephone antenna could have been for 2017. The project was well advanced, the location found, the slab poured… “But the Regional Health Agency (ARS) said no at the last minute because it was not far from the source that supplies us. It would have caused problems in the event of a breakdown,” remembers the elected official, without being offended. Life without calls on her cell phone suits her very well. “What a joy to go through the (Roman) gate of the village and no longer be reachable! Since Covid-19, we have even had new residents who have come to settle down for that.”

However, the situation can also involve some risks. A Murbachois adds. “One time, we had no more electricity because a pole had fallen,” reports Pierre. “The EDF technician came but he had to call. The box obviously didn’t work so I had to get out the old phone, the one you turn to dial numbers. Can you imagine? It’s still a security problem.”

Inside the booth, the municipality left a notebook and pencils. The goal? For everyone to note where the calls come from.
Inside the booth, the municipality left a notebook and pencils. The goal? For everyone to note where the calls come from.– T. Gagnepain

Esmeralda Mura does not say otherwise and recalls other cases, medical this time. “Even if they have a landline and Internet, more and more elderly people are pushing for a mobile network. The State too. At the end of the year, we will enter a new process and different operators will come to find one or more antenna locations. Maybe the cabin is living its last years!”

“Hello? This is Lyon.”

In the meantime, she is still useful. Rarely to contact emergency services, her primary role, and never for personal calls in the absence of means of payment. More for entertainment! Her number, 03.89.74.11.53, is very often dialed. “This summer, it rang non-stop,” the assistant continues, linking this new notoriety to the article by Paris Match on the subject. The little notebook next to the blue handset history proves it. The town hall left it so that everyone could note where the call came from and on what date. Belgium, Vaucluse, Beauvais, Marseille and even New Caledonia. “They call from everywhere,” laughs Esmeralda Mura as she turns the pages.

She couldn’t be more right: the discreet ringing has just rung. “Hello, this is Lyon,” exclaims a man on the other end of the line. “I’m really happy to call this phone booth. I found the number on social media and wanted to try it. I miss phone booths,” adds Louis, 35, a few of whom use them. “I loved it because when I went to the scouts, cell phones were forbidden and I remember calling my parents collect (the call is at the caller’s expense). Thanks for answering me!”

A few steps from the famous telephone box stands a Romanesque abbey founded in the 8th century.
A few steps from the famous telephone box stands a Romanesque abbey founded in the 8th century.– T. Gagnepain

He probably won’t be the only one this Wednesday. “It’s become an attraction. During the holidays, people were almost fighting to get off it,” Pierre continues, without animosity towards the object. “Even when it no longer works, we should keep it. It’s rustic and it’s part of the folklore.”

So much so that the guide from the nearby Guebwiller Tourist Office stopped there several times during guided tours. “We heard so much about it, people wanted to see it,” they smile on site, while still putting a little order into the points of interest in Murbach. “The tourists still come first to see the abbey…” Then, on the edge of the parking lot on the way back, he takes a look at the telephone box.

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