end of the village. The Community of Christ cemetery, 339 East Road, has a Canadian World War II hero buried there. Sgt. Wallace Edmond Firlotte, who served with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment during the war, was bestowed six war decorations. Firlotte was one of only a very few Canadians that was bestowed the Order of the Bronze Lion for heroism from the Crown of the Netherlands. This award is presented for "Deeds of extreme bravery and leadership in battle favouring the Netherlands". The Prince personally presented this Order to Sgt. Firlotte by Royal Decree on December 8, 1945. Community events Each February, Noëlville hosts the largest and longest running family hockey tournament in Canada. Five years after the Noëlville Community Centre was built in 1972, the Noëlville Family Hockey Tournament was founded in 1977 by Claude Mayer, Gerry Gratton, and Dan Pitre. There were 17 teams. The first game was played on New Year's night when the Carrière family played against the Mayer family. The Pitre family won the inaugural tournament. This tournament survives to this day and has become a much anticipated event in this small town where families reunite when friends and members of the extended family return 'home' to compete in this event which now hosts between 32 and 36 teams and families every year. Over the years, this tournament raised over $150,000 for local charities. In August, the Club Richelieu Rivière-des-Français hosts the family softball tournament, which regularly hosts over 100 teams and provides numerous economic benefits to the region. August 5-6-7, 2016 was the 32nd year of this tournament and had 103 teams registered. Over the years, this tournament has raised over $221,330 to help fund various cultural, educational and community activities. Government The municipal office is located at 44 St-Christophe St in Noëlville. The council is composed of the mayor and six councillors. The current mayor is Gisèle Pageau. French River utilizes the mail-in balloting system for municipal elections rather than polling stations. Voter turnout in the 2010 elections was 62%. The 2019 operating budget for French River was approximately $8 million. The municipality employs approximately 30 staff and has 20 volunteer firefighters. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, French River had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it