Retired French Expat Stranded in Hometown Parking Lot During Lockdown

The former truck driver is used to going to his hometown every year. But he is facing serious difficulties this year. "I’ve been living in Morocco since my retirement in 2011. I come back to Europe every year to go to Nîmes where I have a place to stay. I also go to Dublin or Moscow. And each time, I spend a few weeks in Sedan. I was born here. It’s silly, but I like this city," Denis tells La Capitale.

To make this annual pilgrimage, he takes his converted truck for the technical inspection, then undergoes the mandatory medical examination to renew his heavy goods vehicle license. "I put the truck in winter storage in Belgium. I fly from Rabat to Charleroi and I pick it up there when I come back to Europe," explains the septuagenarian.

This truck he had bought to travel around Africa with his wife from Morocco, when he retired, has become Denis Ray’s home since March 10. His misadventure began on March 16, the eve of the lockdown. "I went to do the technical inspection in Reims. But a leak in the brake line was found during the test. It spilled liquid everywhere. The guy wasn’t happy; so he looked for the smallest thing," he recounts.

Unable to make the necessary repairs, the former truck driver can no longer drive his truck. Now stuck in the parking lot, Denis Ray is thinking about how to repair his old Renault at the lowest cost. "I don’t have a big retirement pension and I send the majority to my wife in Morocco," says the Sedan resident. While waiting for the truck to be repaired and the technical inspection validated, Denis benefits from the generosity of the Leclerc members. He has maintained contact with his wife who remained in Morocco to occasionally alleviate his loneliness.