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BRITTANY

Frenchman busts prized cliff for better view

A resident in a small town of Brittany, western France, was so intent on getting a sea view that he used a jackhammer to bust off part of an extremely rare two-billion-year-old rock formation outside his home.

Published: 24 September 2014 17:08 CEST
Frenchman busts prized cliff for better view
On Monday the man was ordered to stop by local officials and reported to police. Jackhammer photo: Shutterstock

The unnamed resident decided that enough was enough last Thursday after years of a sea-less view in his home in Locquirec in the Finistère department of Brittany.

Seemingly without any regard for the town’s priceless heritage the man got hold of a jackhammer and began drilling into the priceless rocks Ouest-France reported.

On Monday the man stopped his demolition after being ordered to do so by authorities.

It turns out this isn’t the first time the man has been caught trying to clear his view.

According to Ouest-France the man had already made an attempt to budge one of the rocks in 2013, before being stopped by Dour ha Douar, an association specializing in the respect and protection of the environment.

Ironically, the association came across the resident in the midst of his renovation work during a guided tour of the town’s natural heritage. By Sunday a sign had appeared saying "Here the destruction of heritage". 

The rocks, which are formed from an extremely rare type of granite that no longer exists in Brittany, date back more than two billion years.

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UNESCO

Venice may be put on Unesco endangered list if cruise ships not banned

The UN art heritage agency has said it may put Venice on its ‘endangered’ list if the lagoon city does not permanently ban cruise ships from docking there.

Published: 22 June 2021 12:53 CEST
Updated: 22 June 2021 17:27 CEST
Venice may be put on Unesco endangered list if cruise ships not banned
Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP

The Italian lagoon city, along with Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the city of Budapest, and Liverpool’s waterfront may be put on the list of “World Heritage in Danger,” meaning they risk being removed from Unesco’s prestigious list of world heritage sites completely.

Unesco said on Monday the issue will be discussed at a meeting of its World Heritage Committee, which oversees the coveted accolade, in Fuzhou, China, on July 16-31.

It “would be a very serious thing for our country” if Venice was removed, said Italy’s Culture Minister Dario Franceschini on Monday.

READ ALSO: ‘More local, more authentic’: How can Italy move toward responsible tourism in future?

The MSC Orchestra cruise ship arrives in Venice on June 3rd, 2021. Photo: ANDREA PATTARO/AFP

Participants at the China meeting will make the final decision on the deletion and warning proposals, and the agency could demand urgent action on cruise ships from the Italian government by next February.

There has long been concern about the impact of cruise ships on the city’s delicate structures and on the lagoon’s fragile ecosystem.

READ ALSO: Hundreds demonstrate against cruise ships’ return to Venice

The Italian government appeared to have passed a ban on cruise ships docking in Venice earlier this year – but the giant vessels continue to arrive in the city.

The government’s decree in fact did not constitute an immediate ban.

Instead, it said a plan for docking cruise ships outside Venice’s lagoon must be drawn up and implemented.

In the meantime, the ships will continue sailing through the lagoon and docking at the city’s industrial port, which has been the landing site for them since last December.

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