In 1949, after 21 films and at the height of her worldwide fame, Durbin quit the movie business and retired to a village in France.

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The village mayor, Ivan Antoniv, a retired physics professor, says the situation is hard but not critical.

ECONOMIST: The land that time forgot

The head of the Westport was once a village lined with the homes of the active and retired ship captains, an historically significant and fascinating history lesson in and of itself.

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