A violent storm tore through the tiny Alpes-Maritimes village of Rigaud on Friday, August 14, damaging the cemetery with a mudslide, partially destroying the roof of a municipal community hall, cutting off a road and flooding several cellars.
Rigaud, home to just 165 residents in the hills above Vence, saw its youth spontaneously turn out to help the community set things right in the storm's aftermath, pitching in on cleanup efforts across the village without waiting to be asked.
The storm arrived as the broader region has swung between extremes this summer, with the Var and Alpes-Maritimes both placed under orange thunderstorm alert again on Thursday, August 20, following weeks of severe drought and heatwave conditions across the department.