About 5 years ago we had some people come to the village in Oxfordshire to tell us that our houses were likely to become controlled in some degree because they were all old and interesting - in addition to the houses already listed. This was presented as if it was really good news for us as home owners, when in fact the exact opposite was true. Fortunately nothing has been said since, and life continues as normal.
Sometimes it seems the French and English aren’t so far apart after all.
Dont most people follow the wishes of their bosses?
I think the issue is the size of the commune. Ours is 120 people. I always ask the Maires assistant, his procedural / legal advisor what to do. She is always conscious of the ways that locals including the Maire have stretched the rules. I apply for a permis when she says it would be sensible. I am after all not a local so not protected by the collective. I have had no problems taking this advice although clearly the formulaires have some added stress.
Probably a similar size and a conversation with the secretariat she said dont say anything and just do it 
Yes, quite. On one occasion both she and the Maire, also in the room, looked slightly horrified and said to leave it be.
No problems here, our Maire sadly died suddenly in his '70s at the end of the year and the new one, elected by the council, is a friend of mine. A retired Gendarme, we have a friendly banter relationship which started when I mentioned in company that I had written a fiction story (a sequel to an earlier one) which involved our hero breaking out of Merignac Gaol in Bordeaux. ‘Not possible’ he had said and another friend, English but also a court appointed translator, offered to translate it for his refutation.
Sadly, I never got around to it. 
