AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a quick glance at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Woman found dead in apartment
The body of a 38 year old woman was found in an apartment in Perpignan last Tuesday. An autopsy revealed no signs of any fatal injuries and it is believed that the woman may have succumbed to a massive absorption of alcohol or medication. After 48 hours in police custody, the woman’s husband and another man were both released, with no charges against them.
Autumn is on the way
After yet another few days of unprecedented high temperatures the thermometer will return to ‘normal’ this week. Several heat records have been broken again, with 26° recorded in Perpignan and 28.5° in Céret, but temperatures are now due to drop into the ‘teens’ with a maximum of 13° from the middle of next week. Unfortunately there is still no sign of rain for the parched department, and the drought restrictions remain in force.
Fatal fire in Céret
Just after midnight on Sunday, firefighters were called out to a house fire on rue Saint-Ferréol in the centre of Céret. The fire had apparently started in an uninhabited room on the ground floor. 6 people, including three children aged 14, 15 and 2, had already managed to evacuate the building when the firefighters arrived but the lifeless bodies of two men, aged 31 and 55, were found inside in their respective apartments, apparently having succumbed to smoke inhalation.
Police catch fuel thieves
For several months the gendarmes of Pollestres Motorway platoon had been receiving complaints from lorry drivers stating that fuel had been siphoned from their tanks whilst their vehicles were parked in the rest areas off the motorway. After carrying out a surveillance operation, their efforts paid off when they spotted two individuals in the middle of siphoning. It turned out to be two lorry drivers using a very efficient pump system plugged into their own vehicle, so they could very quickly remove fuel from other lorries parked nearby. They were arrested and are awaiting trial.
Perpignan prison full
The men’s prison is now completely overcrowded and there is no room for any more prisoners, and is said to be at 260% capacity. In the MAH (maison d’arrêt hommes), there are already 90 mattresses on the floor but there are 337 inmates and normal capacity is 132. In the main prison centre, there are 745 inmates for 529 paces and the situation is absolutely critical, causing problems for inmates and staff alike. The union has called for a cessation of transfers of detainees from other institutions, particularly from those with no ties to the department. It also states that 106 people who have been ordered to be deported are currently incarcerated in the prison, taking up valuable spaces.
Alarm test for the Bouillouses and Vinça dams
An exercise to test the special intervention plans of two local dams will take place this Thursday at 9am and 1pm. As part of the exercise, the sirens of the dams will be triggered (at 9.30 and 11.30 if anyone is passing Vinça at the time). At the same time, mobile phones will receive a text alert. This will affect all residents located along the line of the River Têt, from the Bouillouses dam to the sea (ie Vinça, Rodès, Ille-sur-Têt, Néfiach) and is part of the test to protect the populations in the event of an accident on the dams.
