AND HERE IS THE NEWS…

….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson

St. Cyprien stadium invaded by travellers

This Sunday, a convoy of travellers arrived in Saint Cyprien and forced open the gates of the Capellans stadium.  About one hundred vehicles and fifty caravans were installed in the grounds and the Gendarmes and a representative from the Préfecture were dispatched to the scene.  This is the second ‘invasion’ of caravans on municipal land and the mayor is becoming increasingly angry – he posted a message on social media asking citizens to mobilise alongside the Mairie to dislodge the travellers but has since deleted it, explaining that he was now in contact with the Préfecture who were going to ‘solve the situation’.

Free buses for holiday season workers

After a successful trial last summer, two 55-seat buses will again be made available to summer holiday employees from July 1st to August 31st.  The buses will serve all the seaside towns and will run at 11pm and 1am in the morning.  These buses are free and are expected to solve the problem of seasonal workers who cannot get home after work as there is no normal pubic transport service late at night.  A new service this year is a special bus running every Saturday morning from Perpignan at 7am, passing through Elne and arriving at Argelès-sur-Mer at 7.45am.  This is at the request of Argelès campsites who are hoping this will help their cleaning staff.

Bullet impact on roof of Perpignan Prison

L’Indépendant

Over the past few days, officers at Perpignan prison have been stretched to the limits by a series of incidents; the death of a prisoner by hanging, two other suicide attempts, the lighting of fires, noisy protests at the foot of the prison walls, and last Monday, a violent detainee filled his food tray with his own excrement and threw it at an officer.  The final straw this week is that a bullet hole has been discovered in the glass roof of the workshops – and it is evident that the shot came from outside and could easily have endangered lives.  Perpignan prison is one of the most over-populated prisons in France with an occupancy rate of 251% and a lack of staff.

Australian swim team train at Canet

Australian swim team in Canet

If you’re planning on doing a few leisurely lengths of Canet pool, don’t be disheartened if you find everybody else is going faster than you – the 70-strong Australian swimming team have chosen the Arlette Franco complex to complete their olympic training before heading to Paris. The pool is equipped with the latest technologies such as underwater cameras connected to software, plus a sauna and hot and cold baths have just been installed.  Several members of the team have also been profiting from the local fish restaurants.

The Count of Monte Cristo filmed in Céret

A new feature film of The Count of Monte Cristo was released in cinemas this Friday.  Not normally newsworthy but of interest to locals as many of the scenes were filmed at Château d’Aubry in Céret.  The chateau appears as the home of Edmond Dantès, played by Pierre Niney (no I’ve never heard of him either) and the co-owner, and manager, Mélanie Depra, is said to be delighted to have welcomed the film crew who spent one week shooting the scenes.

Elections

Voting in France elections municpales

No doubt you will have noticed posters of eager, honest faces plastering the walls in every village, and the flood of paperwork arriving in your letter boxes – the French elections are well underway here in France. The first round of voting took place on Sunday, with a record turnout of voters, and the far-right National Rally (RN) have taken a clear lead.  This will not be a universally popular party and the shops in Paris and other major cities are already being boarded up in preparation for potential large demonstrations. The second vote is this coming Sunday.

And finally…

A security guard in a supermarket just over the border spotted two women in the process of stealing several cans of olive oil.  When he confronted them at the cash register, the women became furiously angry and threatened, jostled and intimidated the guard.  He managed to wrestle the cans of oil from them but this annoyed them so much that they jumped into their car and tried to run him over in the car park.  Police managed to track them down and they were prosecuted for attempted theft with violence.  NB. the price of olive oil has shot up recently to a peak of 9,000€ per tonne at the beginning of the year, but the Spanish government have temporarily abolished VAT on olive oil from July 1 to September 30, allowing an average saving of between 38 and 60 cents per litre.

Caroline Manson is an independent Property Consultant – for advice on buying, selling, renting or renovating, don’t hesitate to contact her at caroline@perpignan-properties.com

 

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