"I like to joke that I'm happy to be able to contribute to the image of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, because Correns is so well known," Mayor Michael Latz said with a smile outside the ochre-colored town hall.
Latz said that Tom Bove, an American businessman who owns Miraval, recently told him that Jolie and Pitt had agreed to a three-year lease on the property, known for producing high-quality organic wine.
The couple is "in the process of moving in," said Latz, adding that he hadn't met them and knew nothing about whether Jolie had given birth or not.
"They are people who I hope will live normally here," he said. "I would think the choice of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ... is tied to the quality of life in Correns."
Latz also rejected speculation about an imminent wedding, and said that under French law they'd need to alert local authorities if they want to officially tie the knot here.
Security guards were blocking the gates to the estate Friday, while a postal truck and other maintenance vehicles regularly passed in and out. The castle and accompanying buildings can't be seen from public roads.
Onno Stijl, owner of the L'Auberge du Parc inn, said it was a good thing they were moving in and could help business. He said he gets his wine from the estate's vineyards.
"It's a couple living here now like everyone," he said.
The area, he said, "is a bit isolated but that gives it a certain ... privacy."
According to its Web site, the Miraval estate dates from pre-Roman times. It includes fountains, aqueducts, moats, a lake and vineyards that produce an organic wine distributed worldwide.
