AND HERE IS THE NEWS…

….a light look at the latest local news with Caroline Manson

Two tempests batter the department

The much heralded Storm Nils sadly lived up to and exceeded all the dire warnings heralding its’ arrival.  From the early hours of Thursday morning wind gusts of up to 180kmh battered the region and the previously announced ‘Orange Alert’ swiftly changed to ‘Red Alert’ – and the official ‘FR Alert’ text message was sent to all mobile phones, advising people not to leave their homes and to strap anything down that could be affected by the wind. Sadly there was little that could be done for the numerous trees and telegraph poles that were torn from the ground, causing many roads to be closed, and many homes to be left without electricity.  On Friday the wind seemed to have calmed down and the sound of chain saws could be heard everywhere (particularly in my village of Fourques) but then came the announcement that a second tempest was on the way.  Storm Oriana was not quite as severe as its predecessor but gusts of over 100kmh battered the region again, reaching a peak at midnight on Saturday.

Suspicious fire breaks out at RN candidates house

In the very early hours of 11th February a fire broke out in the front doorway of the home of Guillaume Richer, a candidate for the RN in the municipality of Alenya.  According to reports he heard an explosion around 1am and when he went outside his front door was burning down and fire entered the house.  Firefighters quickly controlled the fire and the candidate, his wife, and their young children were said to be shocked but unharmed.  Investigations are underway but so far the fire does not seem to be accidental.

New artist signed up for Les Déferlantes

The annual music festival held at Le Barcares every year has announced the list of artists on the programme.  Actu Perpignan seemed very proud to announce a major new name on the list – “Miki –  an artist who will make you dance and shiver at the same time, and will set fire to Les Deferlantes on July 13th’ so I feel obliged to report this story, while having to admit that I have heard of none of them.  The list includes names such as Timmy Trumpet, Kings, Eve La Marka, so perhaps I am not alone in my ignorance…. (You are not alone! Editor)

Prefecture bans comedian Dieudonné from performing in the region

The controversial ‘anti-woke’ comedian Dieudonné had planned to give a show in the department on Saturday 14th February but as soon as the prefecture got wind of it (see what I did there?) they issued a statement saying that he was prohibited from performing, and for a period of one month from that notification.  It is not yet known where the performance was due to take place as it is always kept secret until the last minute when fans on his website receive a text message giving the details, but it was said to be within a 20 kilometre radius of Perpignan.

Tobacco smugglers caught at Le Perthus

Customs officers don’t just operate on the A9 motorway – they also make random searches of drivers who try to avoid them by taking the D900 (which links Le Perthus to Salses-Le-Chateau).  Last weekend officers were controlling cars passing the border at Le Perthus and on Saturday discovered 104 cartons of cigarettes in a private car, and the following day discovered 40 cartons of cigarettes and rolling tobacco in another vehicle – both amounts were evidently not for ‘personal consumption’.  Both drivers were arrested and the drivers will face heavy fines.

Road to Ski-slopes open again after landslide

The RD66 opened to traffic again on Friday 6th February – much earlier than expected.  Engineers blasted the boulders which had fallen onto the train track close by with explosives, and were able to clear away the danger.  The Yellow Train line remains closed for the time being, but everyone was relieved that the route to the ski-slopes was opened again in time for the school half-term holidays. The ski-slopes are now covered with a thick layer of deep, crisp snow – but unfortunately it seems almost impossible to get there at the moment due to the road closure.  You can, however, content yourselves with looking at the beautiful sight of the Canigou covered in snow – which was at a depth of 2metres last weekend and after this weeks’ snowfall it has now reached a depth of 2.35 meters – the deepest since 2009.