AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Body of woman found in sea at St. Cyprien
At 6am on Saturday morning a couple out for an early morning jog spotted a body floating in the water. The pompiers and a doctor arrived on the scene but there was nothing to be done and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Gendarmes have revealed that the victim was an 82 year old woman whose relatives had reported her missing the day before. An investigation and an autopsy are in process in order to shed light on this tragic death, made all the more mysterious by the fact that the lady was found fully clothed. A 78 year old woman also drowned this week in Lake Raho while taking a cooling swim. She was rescued from the water but despite several attempts at heart massage she could not be revived.
Hailstones cause major damage in Cerdagne and Capcir
The much awaited storms only caused a slight cooling of the air and short periods of rain in areas of the Roussillon plain, but in the upper cantons it was a very different story. In just a few minutes the temperatures dropped from 28° to 15° and intense and violent thunderstorms erupted. Hailstones the size of golfballs rained down, damaging car bodywork, windscreens and velux windows in the towns of Formiguères, Matemale and Les Angles.
Traffic Jams on the A9
Apart from the usual ‘holiday traffic’ the A9 is experiencing even longer and larger delays, particularly for traffic coming from Spain into France. The reason is that customs officers have been tightening their controls by closing lanes at the tolls. Last Thursday, at the height of the heatwave, they decided to close 3 of the 7 lanes of the Le Perthus toll road causing 9 kilometres of traffic jams.
Mine discovered near Paulilles beach
On Sunday afternoon a swimmer discovered what appeared to be a mine in the water just upstream of the beach of Anse de Paulilles. He managed to bring it back to the sand and emergency services were called. A security perimeter was set up and people were asked to stay well away from the area while awaiting the deminers who had been called to carry out checks and neutralise it if necessary. Unfortunately no update to the story has yet been published.
Drought restrictions relaxed – but very slightly
The drought still continues after 2 years and while the water levels in the ground remain at critical level, particularly in the Agly Valley, the recent rainstorms in Cerdanya have caused a mild improvement. While most of the restrictions remain in place, some of them have been relaxed – notably the possibility to water vegetable gardens between certain hours, a change in the watering schedules of stadiums and local authority green spaces; and also the possibility to maintain water levels of private swimming pools. We are reminded to continue to adopt ‘responsible and economical behaviour’ when it comes to water use – and also to check with our local Mairie’s if in doubt.
Bring back ‘Perpignan Thursdays’ say the traders
Les Jeudis de Perpignan was a real spectacle which involved street entertainers, music and animations in every square and street corner, parades etc every Thursday evening in Perpignan during July and August. The new municipal team decided to cancel this and in its place we now have The Radiants – and according to local shop-keepers and restaurateurs they are far from ‘radiant’. Last Thursday, for example, just 200 spectators attended the concert in the Place de la Republique (the largest square in town) and many of the other streets were deserted. The owners of the Vauban, Café Vienne and Café de La Poste are all equally disappointed stating that at first they hired extra staff to cope with the rush but ended up paying out more than they earned.
And finally……
A man walked into a bank in Ille-Sur-Tet, threatened staff with a handgun (which he held in his pocket), and demanded they hand over their cash. The frightened staff immediately handed over what little cash they had – around 1200 euros according to the reports. The robber then demanded the keys to the bank manager’s car so that he could make his escape. Perhaps not the brightest of ideas as, armed with all the information (ie description of vehicle and licence plate number) police were very quickly able to give chase. The chase did not last long as after just 3 kilometres the man turned into a cul-de-sac, where he was promptly arrested. It turned out that he was already known to the police, and was not even carrying a gun but just pretending, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison where he can perhaps reflect on other careers as robbing banks does not seem to be his metier.
