AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Operation ‘Snail’ blocks Tet Valley traffic
Angry farmers carried out an ‘Operation Escargot’ (snail-paced traffic) on the RN116 between Perpignan and the Vinça reservoir to protest against the latest water restrictions. About 30 tractors set off slowly from the Saint-Charles market at 7am, and were joined by many more slow moving vehicles and protesters along the route. In Le Soler, logs and branches were dumped on the road near Intermarché to block traffic from even accessing the RN116. At 11.40am, after a pause for speeches at Vinça, the convoy turned and retraced their route back towards Perpignan.
Huge fire ravages Cerbère
On Sunday afternoon a huge fire broke out in the foothills between Banyuls-sur-Mer and Cerbère. More than 360 firefighters were mobilised, aided by Canadairs and Dash planes, but their work was made even more dangerous by the strong winds. At the time of writing (Sunday evening) over 750 hectares are said to have been destroyed, and 300 residents have had to be evacuated from their homes.
Body found in woodland near Pia
A walker who was checking out a parcel of woodland to see if it was suitable for building on, made the grisly discovery of a body. An autopsy has now confirmed that it is the body of 78 year old Liliane Amiel who had been missing from her home in Pia since February 24th. A forensic examination has ruled out foul play.
Good Samaritans attacked by dog
On Wednesday afternoon two young men were leaving a gym in Perpignan when they witnessed a fight between two men, one of whom was holding a dog on a leash. As good citizens, they tried to break up the fight, at which point the man ordered his dog to attack one of the youths, causing severe injuries to his thigh. Witnesses called the police who arrested the owner, an alcoholic already known to them, and the dog was taken to the pound.
Zebra killed on road at Le Perthus
A woman was in a state of shock after her car hit and killed a zebra on the road to Le Perthus. The animal, together with a dromedary and a buffalo, had escaped from the Le Perthus Adventure Farm and crossed the village to the Spanish side shortly after 9pm. The owners are distraught and are to file a police complaint as it is believed an intruder had deliberately cut the wire fencing.
Rich pickings for motorway thieves
Motorway thieves must have thought they had hit the jackpot this week when they carried out one of their traditional ‘scams’ on the AP7 motorway. A motorist was calmly passing La Jonquera and heading towards Barcelona when a car overtook him, slowed down in front of him and indicated to him that there was a problem with his car and that he should stop.
Once stopped, one of the occupants of the other car got out and insisted that he check his rear tyre as he might have a puncture, and while the driver was distracted another occupant grabbed a backpack from the passenger seat and the gang then drove off at speed. The driver gave chase but could not keep up. The vehicle was found abandoned at Figuères and thanks to the description that the victim gave, the police were able to arrest 3 people in Cabanes. There was no sign of the backpack, which contained 75,000€…
And finally…
There is a 1 cent coin in circulation that is said to have a possible value of 50,000€. The coin was minted in 2002 in Germany and the design was by Rolf Lederbogen, a German artist who also designed the artwork for the 2 and 5 cent coins and several German postage stamps. This famous 1 cent coin has an oak leaf and two acorns engraved on the back. It was minted in a separate steel so it has a slightly different colour to other one-cent coins. Check behind your sofa seats – you could be sitting on a fortune…
