AND HERE IS THE NEWS…
….a light look at the latest local news with Caroline Manson
Car on fire at Péage
A car caught fire this morning just beside the toll-booth of the motorway access at exit 42 (Perpignan South). 15 firefighters battled to extinguish the flames and prevent damage to the toll-booth (which had already suffered considerable fire damage by the yellow vest protestors in December). The cause of the car fire is under investigation, and traffic is heavily disrupted.
Gilets-Jaunes – Act 12
Saturday appeared so much calmer, as far as protests go, except for at the Péage of Le Boulou, which was closed for some time. 300 protestors made continued attempts to take over the toll booths and also to access the motorway, but were discouraged by police with tear-gas. There was only one ‘incident’ where a frustrated driver from Luxembourg tried to accelerate through the crowd – so the protestors broke his car windows.
Drug smuggler arrested
Police at La Jonquera discovered 61 kilos of cannabis in a car, when they carried out a random search on a french registered car heading towards the border last Thursday. The 36 year old french driver was arrested and is currently in detention awaiting trial in Figuères.
Attempt to save wolf fails
A resident of Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escales (a small village up in the Cerdagne)(with a not bad Auberge with great views) was thrilled to spot a wolf in the hills above the village. She even managed to take some photos of it and for several days she returned to keep an eye on it. She could see that it was very old, weak and ill looking so she managed to collect it (the article does not relate the exact details of how she managed this) and put the animal in a garage and called the authorities for help. Sadly the vet had no option but to euthanise the animal but as it is such a rare creature in the region, an autopsy is being carried out to determine more about the animal’s history.
Fire in Ille-sur-Tet
Three people had to be rescued from a burning apartment building in the main street of Ille-sur-Tet on Sunday evening. At one point 30 firefighters were battling against the flames – greatly hindered by the strong Tramontane wind. There are no reports of injuries so far.
Stranded on a ski-lift
Due to a technical problem with one of the pulleys, 28 people were stranded in mid-air when the chair-lift at Nord-Pyrénées 2000 broke down. The security protocol was swiftly put into place and with the use of ropes, the skiers were brought ‘back to earth’ one by one and given a cup of hot chocolate. The whole process took around 2 hours but by 3pm everyone was out of danger and all activities continued as normal.
And finally ……
An ‘enterprising’ young man entered a supermarket to buy the latest games console – the PlayStation 4. The ticket price was 340€ – well above his budget – so he headed for the fruit and veg section, put the PS4 in a plastic bag, then put it on the automatic weighing scales and managed to produce a price ticket for 9.29€! Having just 1 item he then went to the self-service check-out, paid for his ‘bargain’ and left the store. Unfortunately (for him) greed got the better of him and when he returned to the shop the next day to try exactly the same thing, he was caught by a security guard and then arrested!
