AND HERE IS THE NEWS…

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

And here is the news – a light look at the latest local news

Fort Bellegarde wins the lottery

Ski season extended

Thanks to the recent snowfall the Cambre d’Aze ski resort will remain open beyond its planned closing date of Sunday March 16th.  Between 50 and 60 centimetres of snow have fallen recently meaning that around 20 slopes are open, for the first time during the entire season.  Font Romeu plans to close at the end of March while Les Angles is scheduled to close one week later on April 6th.  For the end of the season many of the resorts are offering discounts of up to 15%.

Robbery at ATM leads to dangerous car chase

At around midnight on Wednesday night the gendarmes received a call from a person who had been in the process of withdrawing money from an ATM in Canet when they were  assaulted and then robbed by men armed with a hunting knife.  Police officers quickly arrived at the scene and were able to track down the vehicle containing the suspects, but despite repeated signals for them to stop and get out of the car, the driver sped off.  A dangerous car chase ensued in the direction of Perpignan, with projectiles being thrown from the car in the direction of the police.  The chase continued in the narrow streets of old town Perpignan with the vehicle completely ignoring one-way signs and hitting a parked car.  The police finally caught up with the car and the four occupants then tried to escape on foot but two of them were arrested ‘with difficulty’.  Their two companions are still on the run.

2 shops destroyed in fire at Saint-Cyprien

At around 9.30pm on Saturday a fire broke out in a fast food restaurant situated in the shopping arcade on Quai Arthur Rimbaud in Saint Cyprien.  60 firefighters and 14 emergency vehicles were called out and worked quickly to try to prevent the flames from spreading throughout the arcade and as a precautionary measure several nearby residents were evacuated from their homes.  Most of the building was saved but two shops were very badly damaged.  An investigation has been opened to determine the origin of the fire.

Demonstrators to block road to ski resorts

While the ski resorts are celebrating the best snow conditions for 10 years, ski enthusiasts will have had trouble getting there this weekend.  The Train en Têt association are planning a ‘gathering’ at the roundabout on the RD66 (ex RN116) at the entrance to Prades.  Between 150 and 200 demonstrators were expected to create a barrier to filter and considerably slow down the traffic, while distributing leaflets to the motorists.  They were then planning to drive very slowly (known as a ‘snail’ operation) down towards Eus.  They are protesting about the fact that following an accident when a train hit the bridge in Eus, no repair work has been done and in fact the line between Perpignan and Prades has been closed for 235 days, which has badly affected commuters who relied on the train link.

Huge fire in squatters house

A large farmhouse near the Aimé-Giral stadium was devastated by fire last week.  The house, said to be used by squatters, was empty at the time but two neighbouring properties were evacuated and the Saint-Christophe rehab clinic was also kept under close surveillance as the flames were approaching their garden.  It took 40 firefighters several hours to control the fire, the cause of which is as yet unknown.

27 kilos of cannabis resin found hidden in car

The Guardia Civil were carrying out a random search of a vehicle passing through La Jonquera and were just on the point of letting the driver continue on his way when their sniffer dog started to focus intently on the dashboard of the car.  The officers decided to dismantle the centre console and discovered a secret hiding place concealing several blocks of hashish.  In total 27.5 kilos of cannabis resin were seized from the car and the driver, a 47 year old frenchman was arrested.  This is the second major discovery for the Guardia Civil who only recently discovered nearly 10,000 counterfeit items in a store in La Jonquera, with a value of 1.9 million euros.

And finally…

You may remember the story about the fire at Le Barcarès Christmas Village which broke out just before the Village was due to open its doors to the public.  Thanks to heroic efforts from many people, including volunteers, a huge clean up and rebuilding operation took place very quickly and the Village was able to welcome the first visitors just a few days later.  The insurance company are now saying that because they started the clean up work the day after the disaster – ie before their expert went to the scene – no assessment of damage could be carried out so there will be no insurance payout.