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Glance around France: Normandy mayors cry for help over coastal erosion

In today's round-up of news stories from around France we look at Normandy mayors calling for financial aid from the government over coastal erosion, a rise in fuel thefts and furious paramedics carry out road blocks outside Paris.

Published: 6 November 2018 17:31 CET
Glance around France: Normandy mayors cry for help over coastal erosion
Photo: AFP

Normandy mayors appeal to government for help with coastal erosion

Coastal erosion is really taking its toll in the northern French region of Normandy. 
 
In just a few months the beaches in the coastal towns of Bricqueville-sur-Mer and Bréhal have seen the coastline eroded by three to four metres, according to reports in the French press. 
 
As a result, mayors in the region say homes are at risk and it's time the government started coughing up some cash to help local authorities solve the problem. 
 
Mayor of Bricqueville-sur-Mer Hervé Bougon told the French press that the local authorities are forced to take expensive emergency measures while the government says it can cover between 60 and 80 percent of the cost. 
 
However Bougon says that this isn't good enough. 
 
“Getting sand back onto the beach costs €50,000,” he said. “Everyone knows that our municipal budgets don't allow us to finance the rest.”
 
This leaves with him with no choice but to strengthen the sand dunes that remain without replacing the sand, he argues. 
 
“Why should it be up to the taxpayers of our small communities to pay to protect what is national territory?”
 
And Bougon is not alone in his views, with more than 30 other communes in Normandy seeking emergency funding from the government to help protect their areas from similar problems. 
 

 
 
Rise in fuel thefts across France 
 
This may not come as surprising news for those of you who have been following the fallout from the rising cost of fuel in France. 
 
The number of fuel thefts recorded by authorities since the beginning of the year is on the rise. 
 
A total of nearly 10,000 fuel thefts have been recorded since January in France, with truck drivers, construction companies and farmers among the victims. 
 
And with motorists becoming increasingly angry at the rising costs, the thefts are proving to be very lucrative. 
 

 
 
Furious paramedics block roads outside Paris
 
There was traffic chaos outside the French capital early on Tuesday morning. 
 
The reason was down to a go-slow operation, which affected the inner ring road between Porte de Bercy and Quai d'Ivry, carried out by angry paramedics. 
 
The source of their anger was a recently introduced health transport financing reform which they fear will mean they have to cut costs.
 

 
 
 

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WEATHER

IN PICTURES: French town hit by freak June hailstorm

A French town has been hit by a freak hailstorm that left locals clearing drifts of ice in the streets with shovels and snow ploughs.

Published: 29 June 2021 16:44 CEST
IN PICTURES: French town hit by freak June hailstorm
Photo: Sapeurs-pompiers des Vosges

The hail struck the town of Plombières-les-Bains in the Vosges mountains on Tuesday morning.

Romain Munier, head of communications for the local emergency services, told French media: “There were up to 60 centimetres of accumulated hail” while in the wider area, “up to 10 millimetres of water accumulated in six minutes”.

https://twitter.com/timbaland57/status/1409881345741012994

Locals were pictured clearing the street of ice with shovels and snow ploughs after the storm passed and the fire and rescue crews for the Vosges area said they had received 56 callouts in total.

Large areas of France are on weather alert for storms until Thursday, as a ‘cold drop’ passes over the country leading to extremely unsettled weather.

In most areas, however, the storms will be confined to heavy rain and thunder.

In neighbouring Switzerland, the Swiss news agency ATS reported giant hailstones up to seven centimetres wide in the canton of Lucerne.

In the canton of Fribourg, the police and fire brigade were called 300 times, including to rescue a class of 16 children and two adults caught in the hail.

Six of the children and one adult were taken to hospital.

At least five people were injured in the German-speaking Swiss cantons, including a cyclist who suffered head injuries from hailstones, according to ATS, whilst in Germany severe flooding has hit parts of the country including Stuttgart.

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