AND HERE IS THE NEWS…

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

Week of fires is finally over

A heatwave and a strong Tramontane wind were the stuff of nightmares for residents and firefighters when several fires broke out (or were deliberately started) around the region.  The first fire was last Thursday at Saint-Marie-la-Mer which then advanced on Canet, destroying multiple homes and causing the evacuation of Le Brasilia Campsite, among other areas.  The largest fire was at Trévillach which covered more than 4,900 hectares between the Conflent and the Aspres massif, causing the evacuation of 27 municipalities.  Around 50 buildings were destroyed and several people suffered minor injuries but luckily nobody was killed.  It wasn’t until 6 days later that the residents were able to return to their homes, but for many of them, particularly in Ille-sur-Tet and Rodes, they returned to discover their homes completely destroyed.  Investigations into the causes of so many fires are underway but already several arrests have been made. The prefecture has announced that for most of the towns and villages in the region, no fireworks will be allowed for the traditional July 14 celebrations.

Tragedy in Amelie-les-Bains

A two year old child has drowned in the Tech river.  The child was on the edge of the river just behind the stadium when his mother took her eyes off him for just a few seconds, during which time he was swept away by the waters.  Very quickly a large group of rescuers were mobilised, including diving firefighters, gendarmes from the Saint-Cyprien nautical brigade and the Dragon 66 helicopter, but sadly the child’s lifeless body was found lower down in the river where he was pronounced dead at the scene.  An investigation has been opened.

Mayor of Perpignan convicted, but remains as Mayor.

On Tuesday July 7 the Paris Court of Appeal convicted Louis Aliot, the Mayor of Perpignan, during the trial of the National Front parliamentary assistants.  He was sentenced to 1 year in prison (suspended sentence) and two years of ineligibility (also suspended) and a fine of 5,000 euros, but as he will not actually be in prison he is entitled to remain as Mayor of Perpignan.  This is a similar situation to that of his friend Marine Le Pen who has been found guilty but remains eligible for the 2027 presidential election.   

Man admits to murder of his wife in Perpignan

A man was seen coming out of a building, one arm covered in blood, shouting “call the police” and saying that he had killed his partner.  For some reason he then got into his car and headed off in the direction of Narbonne, but was quickly arrested by the police.  Very little further information is available yet except to say that the police confirmed they had found his partner dead at their home and the man is being held in custody.

Beach closed due to contamination in water

A portion of the beach at Saint-Cyprien (between rescue station 4 and Le Trayou beach club) was temporarily closed last Friday following abnormal results found during water sampling.  The water was contaminated by a ‘higher than safety standards allow’ level of Enterococci, a bacteria which forms part of the normal human intestinal flora.  E.coli bacteria were also found.  The beach will remain closed until further testing shows that the levels are within safe standards again.

Travellers break locks to set up illegal campsite

A new group of travellers have entered a private piece of land near Theza stadium.  Despite the fact the access gate was secured by a padlocked chain this proved no match for them and around fifty caravans and several ‘high-end’ German cars were installed on this plot.  This is the third illegal installation in just a few days – two other sites being in Saint-Cyprien and Le Barcares (on land which was needed for the organisation of Les Déferlantes festival.  Apart from the fact the land does not have any sanitary or waste collection facilities the illegal parking is also deemed to be a public health and safety issue and also a fire risk as the travellers make illegal and dangerous connections to the public electricity supply.

Woman found dead in Lake Raho

The lifeless body of a woman was discovered on Wednesday morning in the smaller of the two lakes at Villeneuve-de-la-Raho.  The discovery was made at around 8am by walkers, who immediately called the emergency services but nothing could be done and the woman was declared dead at the scene.  The victim had no papers on her but did have some car keys in her pocket.  She was later identified as a 58 year old woman from Brouilla and while the police have ruled out foul play, an autopsy is being carried out to ascertain the cause of death.