The village closest to the French end of the tunnel is Urdos, but it was announced that the gendarmes would be housed in the nearby town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, on the grounds that their wives would become bored in Urdos.
Desa yang terletak paling dekat dengan ujung terowongan adalah Urdos, tetapi Sarkozy mengumumkan bahwa para gendarmerie akan diberikan tempat tinggal di kota Oloron-Sainte-Marie karena kekhawatiran bahwa istri-istri mereka akan merasa bosan di Urdos.