AND HERE IS THE NEWS…. 

a weekly update of the local news

 

WITH CAROLINE HILL

 

Death of Christian Bourquin – The funeral of the president of the Languedoc-Region took place in Millas on Friday morning.  Friends, family, the First Minister (Manuel Valls) and many other dignitaries were among the 4000 mourners who came to pay their respects to this popular politician.

Missing boy found safe and well – A 17 year old boy left Thuir psychiatric hospital earlier last week wearing just pyjama bottoms, a t-shirt, with no shoes or identity papers.  Thanks to a police appeal for witnesses he was discovered in Le Boulou on Thursday and taken back to hospital.

Tourist found with drug stash – Police called to a camp-site in Argeles alerted by the suspicious behaviour of a young tourist found the boot of his car filled with several bags of Cannabis and 9 stolen mobile phones.  The 22 year old youth explained to the court that he had been forced to hide the goods in his car by some people who threatened to harm his family if he didn’t comply.  The court was not convinced and sentenced him to one year in prison.

Father dies trying to save pet cat – A man in his 40s climbed onto the roof of an industrial building on the Route de Thuir in Perpignan at 2am last Wednesday morning, in an attempt to rescue a cat.  When he failed to return home, his wife alerted the pompiers who carried out a search of the building and found that the roof had collapsed under his weight and he had fallen to his death.  His wife and children were taken to hospital suffering from shock.

Huge drugs haul at Le Perthus – Customs officers pulled over a Fiat Multipla car, with temporary german number plates, last Monday, to subject it to a random drugs search.  The sniffer dog immediately focussed on the seats of the car, where officers discovered 112kg of cannabis resin hidden in boxes.  The driver, an unemployed French chef, admitted that he had been given the car in Morocco and paid 20,000€ to deliver it to his address.  He now awaits trial.

Man threatened in his own car – A 74 year old man from Leucate accidentally cut in front of another driver, who was so angry that he sped up to overtake him, forced him to a halt, then got out of his car and started shouting and hitting the windscreen of the pensioner’s vehicle, before jumping back into his car and driving off.  The shocked old man bravely decided to follow the car to make a note of the number-plate but the young aggressor stopped his own car again, pulled the old man out of his car and punched and kicked him to such an extent that he was left bleeding by the side of the road.  Police are looking for witnesses and the pensioner was taken to hospital.

Mobile speed controls – Traffic police using mobile radar systems carried out a control on the main Canet – Perpignan road last week and issued 16 speeding tickets.  During the same period, a driver was caught travelling at 201kmh on the autoroute near St. Estève.  The driver was fined 750€ and lost his licence.

Homeless man stabbed – An altercation between two homeless Spaniards last Wednesday started with kicks and blows but then ended when one of them brandished a knife and stabbed the other.  The aggressor was quickly discovered (effectively due to his blood-stained clothes) and is being held in custody.  The wounds suffered by the other are said not to be serious.

Cannabis farms discovered – Police in Prades and Vinça have discovered 3 cannabis farms in the area and more than 100 of the 3 metre tall plants have been destroyed.  Cannabis farms are becoming more and more prevalent in the region due to the free sale of cannabis grains across the border.

And finally…………

Lovelocks on Bridges – Officials in Paris have called for a ban on the trend of fixing padlocks to bridges as a symbol of undying love between couples – following the collapse of railings on the Pont des Arts.  This craze is now being copied around the world – and a recent report in L’Independent mentions that it has now come to Perpignan.  But it appears that there is no need to worry yet as the article (mentioning the inscription and featuring 3 photographs), shows just one padlock on Pont Arago….

 

Follow Caroline on www.perpignan-post.blogspot.fr

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