Monaco Yacht Show opens –The 22nd Monaco Yacht Show opens on the Port Hercule today featuring 100 of the world’s super and mega yachts ranging from 25 to 90 meters. More than 30,000 visitors are expected at this year’s show which is growing year on year. Some statistics from the show this year-The construction features 13,000 square meters of wooden flooring, 15 thousand square meters of carpeting, 14 kilometers of electrical cable, 100 tonnes of ballast and 500 green plants. Riviera Radio will be broadcasting live from the Ocean Independence stand during Drive with Mark Abson and Elizabeth Lewis this afternoon, tomorrow and on Friday and you can come and say hello to our team too on stand number QS 73 on the Darse Sud.
Officer released – The police officer who was savagely beaten with a motorcycle crash helmet on Monday has been discharged from St Roch hospital in Nice. The officer who’d been attending a routine road incident has required a great number of stitches to head wounds and has also suffered a fractured wrist. He’ll be off work for at least the next 30 days. The hunt for the man who carried out the assault continues. He ran off on foot following the attack. Meanwhile in Antibes, a policeman was punched in the face near the town’s bus station on Tuesday lunchtime as attempted to stop a man who was riding a scooter that had been reported stolen. The officer was not seriously injured. His attacker also managed to escape.
Prison watch – Two Italian men convicted of the theft of a watch in Cannes last month have been jailed for a year each. The Grasse criminal court heard how 23 year old Manuel Guiliano and his 26 year old cousin Vincenzo Colluci, both from Naples had robbed a 57 year old of what they thought was a Cartier watch on the Croisette on the 9th of August. The watch was in fact a fake but the two thieves had been spotted by police and were arrested as they attempted to make off on a scooter. The men told the court that they’d come to Cannes as there was no work in Italy and they had no option but to steal to support their families. As well as the jail terms both men were banned from entering France for 3 years.
Headscarf Judgement – A court in Toulon is to rule on Friday whether an official who refused to conduct the marriage of a Muslim couple until the bride removed Islamic clothing obscuring the top of her head acted illegally. The couple took legal action against the assistant mayor of La Seyne-sur-Mer after he refused to proceed with the civil marriage ceremony on the 6th of September.
Racist campsite manager convicted – The Grasse criminal court has fined the manager of an Antibes campsite 3,000 euros for racial discrimination. On the 26th of July 2010 the manager refused to rent a camping plot on the site to 2 young people of North African origin. He told them the site was full when in reality there was plenty of space available.
Wine Fairs – You may have noticed that the region’s supermarkets are awash with wine at the moment with special offers on a wide range of reds, roses and whites from around France. Experts say that if you want to make the most of the special offers then you should follow a few simple rules. Firstly, always identify particularly good deals before you comb the supermarket shelves by studying accompanying catalogues. You should heed the words of the resident sommelier who will offer impartial advice and help you to get the best wines for both your palate and your budget. In addition, don’t be fooled by wines carrying award winning labels. It’s better to try one bottle first to see if it lives up to its reputation before investing in a case. Finally in most cases a ‘buy 2 get the 3rd free’ is usually a good deal especially when applied to quality wines as the supermarkets negotiate a special price with the producers at this time of year which would not normally be available.
Lucky strike – A woman from the Var has had an amazing piece of luck after a gold coin was given to her in change in place of a 20 euro cent piece. Danielle Dufresne had been doing her shopping as usual in La Croix-Valmer and was counting her change at home afterwards when she noticed that one of the coins was much heavier than the rest. On closer examination it turned out to be a 1901 gold coin carrying the head of Queen Victoria of England and worth 333 euros.