AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Collioure is France’s favourite town
With 14 other towns being considered, the results of a vote were announced on France 3 this Thursday and Collioure has won the accolade for 2024. Guy Llobet, the Mayor, is absolutely delighted saying “we feel very very happy that Collioure is respected and shines in the department”. He hopes that not only will this increase tourism this year, but also that this will encourage even more people to live there all year round. Check out the other towns that were in the running here.
Bather drowns at Canet
A motionless body was seen in the sea near rescue station 5 on Canet beach at around 8am on Friday morning. The emergency services were quickly on the scene and recovered a young man, unconscious. He was found to be in cardio-respiratory arrest and despite their best efforts they were unable to resuscitate him and he was declared dead at the scene. He was said to be a 25 year old man of Ukrainian nationality but the precise circumstances of this tragedy remain to be clarified. This comes just one day after the unconscious body of a 49 year old woman was pulled from the water on Saint-Cyprien beach. No more details have yet been released but the woman was taken by helicopter to Perpignan hospital.
New Airbus being tested at Perpignan airport
We are now used to seeing the cute looking ‘Beluga’ Airbus flying over the city but on Friday there was a new plane in the skies. The Airbus A321-XLR is not yet on the market but came to Perpignan to carry out a series of take-offs, landings and low-level rotations. Witnesses state that the plane is very impressive and appeared to make vertical take-offs. Based in Toulouse, the Airbus company regularly bring their aircraft to the region for testing – especially during Tramontane days.
‘Dine and Dash’ – with violence
On Tuesday evening two men had been enjoying a lavish meal at the Buffalo Grill in the Carré d’Or Shopping centre just outside Perpignan. At around 10.30pm when the waitress presented them with the bill they refused to pay and ran outside. Bravely the waitress followed them to the car park to try to record the number plate of their vehicle but they started to physically attack her and then fired shots into the air before fleeing in their car. Luckily the police were swiftly able to arrest the men, two cousins who already had a record for theft and violence.
Swimming prohibited in Lake Raho
On 5th July authorities announced a ban on swimming in Lake Raho because of the presence of cyanotoxins in the water. These are created by Cyanobacteria which can be present in fresh water but in the event of high heat they multiply abnormally and become dangerous for humans and animals. The main symptoms caused by these toxins are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, skin itching and irritation and at the first sign of any one of these symptoms a consultation with the doctor (or vet) is advised. The lake water was retested on July 10th and the levels are still high so no swimming is allowed for the foreseeable future.
Pyrénées-Orientales holds record for ‘scams’
The Pyrénées-Orientales is among the ‘champions of France’ for scams – not a record to be particularly proud of. In 2023 the Ministry of the Interior unveiled figures that show that the department is one of the most affected by scams, with up to 12.8 scams per 1000 inhabitants. These scams range from fake letters advising of fines, fake craftsmen knocking on your door, fake ads on the internet and fraudulent SMS. A current scam targets the elderly and consists of individuals pretending to come from Social Services to inspect for mattress infestations – and of course they bring the ‘pests’ with them and convince the home-owners that they need to buy a new mattress. In 2022 a whopping 7,985,147€were taken by fraud in the Pyrénees-Orientales.
And finally…
If you haven’t yet been to the Oniria Aquarium in Canet, now is the time to go. After 3 years of opening they are planning a big surprise to celebrate their 1 millionth visitor. Since 2021 they have welcomed more than 950,000 visitors and they are expecting to hit 1 million sometime between mid-July and August 8th. The lucky visitor will be contacted in secret, will win many gifts and be invited to the anniversary party on August 9th at 9pm.