Gangsters, drugs, soccer and Princess Grace.

Supermarket hold-up - A gang of masked and armed bandits yesterday held up a supermarket at La Gaude. They threatened five staff with handguns at the Intermarché store during the 6am raid. The pair escaped with an undisclosed amount of money from the supermarket’s two cash machines and the store’s safe.

Missing girl search - A search is underway for a 14-year-old girl who disappeared at Le Muy on Tuesday. The teenager was staying at a camping ground with her parents, when she vanished around 9pm. She was wearing jeans and a top, no shoes, and had no money when she disappeared. Police are looking for a 23-year-old man, called Tony, who was camped next to the family. The Draguignan Prosecutor has opened an investigation.

Musician drug charges - A Nice musician will appear before the courts today charged with drug trafficking. The man known as “Pap” is a singer with the local rap group, called Negresco. He was caught by police on Wednesday night allegedly dealing in drugs. He was allegedly selling marijuana and cannabis resin in the Nice L’Ariane district. The band has already drawn the attention of the authorities after featuring military weapons in an on-line music clip.

Monaco Supercup match - Scores of English and Spanish football fans are descending on Monaco ahead of tonight’s UEFA Supercup game between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. But this could be the last time the prestigious clash takes place in the Principality. In the next three years the match between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League will take place in Prague, Cardiff and Tbilisi, in Georgia. There will be traffic restrictions and a special shuttle bus running to the stadium. The match kicks off at the Stade Louis II at 20.45.

Grace film casting - Around a thousand locals have been signed-on as extras to appear in a new film about the life of Monaco’s Princess Grace. 18-hundred hopefuls, men and women aged 30 to 75, turned up for the casting at Nice’s Riviera Studios. Those selected will now have to wait until the end of September or November for their chance to appear before the cameras. Nicole Kidman and Tim Roth are starring in “Grace of Monaco.”

source www.rivieraradio.mc

Dangers of the sea, a plunge, a prince and the army in the South of France

Elderly beachgoer missing - A man in his sixties has disappeared and is feared drowned at a Saint-Laurent-du-Var beach. The man was reported missing yesterday afternoon, when a fellow bather alerted rescuers. 20 searchers, including divers and a helicopter, failed to find the swimmer.

Swimmers take plunge - The success of local swimmers at the London Olympics has led to boom in the sport’s popularity in Nice. The Nice Olympic Swimming club says some 600 children have been enrolled in the past month, more than double the usual number of subscriptions.

Prince visits Paralympics - Monaco’s Royal couple has travelled to London for the start of the Paralympics. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene attended last night’s spectacular opening ceremony. Today they will tour the Olympic village, before attending the handing-over of a new bus to a group of disadvantaged students. There are four athletes from the Alpes-Maritimes competing in the Paralympics.

Military vehicles patrol - Visitors to Monaco need not be alarmed if they see armoured vehicles and tanks patrolling the streets of the Principality. A number of historic American tanks have been brought in to take part in this weekend’s events to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Source www.rivieraradio.mc

Bikers, bandits, strikes and bikes in the South of France

Missing German hiker - A search is underway for a tourist missing in the Verdon valley. The 35-year-old German was last seen on Tuesday of last week, when he set off for a trek. He was walking alone along the GR99 trail, between Bauduen and les Salles-sur-Verdon. The man is described as 185-centimetres tall and carrying a grey backpack.

Bandits attack family - Two armed and masked men have tied up a couple and their two young children during a robbery near Grasse. The crime occurred at 5.30 yesterday morning at their home in Speracedes. The 65-year-old homeowner and his wife in her 40s, were seriously injured in the raid. The robbers took a number of valuable items from the home, before fleeing in the couple’s B-Class Mercedes. The car was found abandoned on the route de Grasse.

Local train strike - Only one-in-two local trains is running today, due to industrial action. The strike is affecting services between Les Arcs and Ventimille. TGV and Intercity trains are not affected.

Bus driver assaulted - Bus drivers in Cannes walked off the job for over an hour yesterday after one of their colleagues was assaulted. The driver was hurt after he was involved in a dispute with a motorist who had parked illegally in a bus stop outside the Cannes train station. Drivers on the 600, 610, 630 and 230 bus lines called the snap strike demanding better protection.

Velo Bleu odyssey - A man from Peillon has ridden one of Nice’s iconic blue bikes over the hills of the Himalayas. Noel Smara has completed a 600-kilometre ride on the bike, which is better suited to the Promenade des Anglais ! Along the way he crossed a mountain pass of 5 602-metres. The only modifications made by the 38-year-old adventurer to his velo bleu were different pedals and a racing saddle.

Local news by www.Rivieraradio.mc

How to sell or buy your home in the South of France.

In France you can find in every town as much real-estate brokers and agencies as bakeries. To become an 'agence immobilier' you do not really need that much: obviously the proper papers, a window, a website and then you wait until customers pass by. Perhaps the local broker hangs up a print-out of your villa in the window and advertises on your costs in the local real estate magazine that is available at the same agent. And so it went on for years. Who on average sold 1 house per year in a interesting price range on the Côte d'Azur, could sit back, relax and sip a cold wine. However, times have changed, the Internet hit the real-estate world on the French Riviera. Customers became more assertive, demanding more and search for alternatives. There are many websites with an immense database of houses in the region, that you will find it hard to start and make a selection. You could also reverse the search for your new French home and write your wishes and budget on paper. Marinus Concierge Services in the South France knows the region like no other, does not sell hot air balloons, is honest credible and will find a home that meets your needs. Marinus Concierge Services in Cannes is run by Jolanda Marinus, native Dutch, born in Het Gooi and has been active in the south of France for many years. Her network both in The Netherlands as in southern France is impressive and includes home buyers and home sellers. Marinus Concierge Services Cannes mediates and delivers a successful home-hunting service for its clients. She works closely with local brokers who are happy to step in the Dutch network. For those who want to sell a property we have good news, since the cooperation with law firm Marloes Mohr in Toulouse, villa's can now be taken officially on sale. The 'mandat de vente' and thorough legal advice in Dutch, French or English  language is part of the package deal. Through the network of Marinus Concierge Services in Cannes you can be sure that your home will be seen more by a broader audience than a plate the local shop window! For more information www.marinus-concierge.com

Trains, storms, jumps and money in the South of France!

Local train strike - Train travel across the Alpes-Maritimes will be disrupted tomorrow by industrial action. TER services will be hit, with just one-in-two trains operating between Les Arcs and Ventimille; and one-in-four between Nice and Tende. TGV and Intercity services will not be affected by the strike.

Child “arsonist” held - A 14-year-old boy is being held in custody, suspected of lighting a massive forest fire in Provence. Seven hundred firefighters from across the south-east finally brought the blaze under control yesterday, after it burnt a thousand hectares, destroying around 400 hectares of forest and two houses. It is believed the boy lit the fire near a camping ground at Orgon in the early hours of Sunday; he has also been linked to a number of other deliberately lit blazes in the region earlier in the summer.

Storms close beaches - Two beaches at Saint-Laurent du Var have been closed to bathers since Sunday. Saturday night’s storm and heavy rain created strong currents and stirred up a lot of mud. The outflow of the Var river now flows directly into the sea at the Cousteau and Landsberg beaches after storms last year created a new natural barrier changing the course of the river.

Elderly jump threat - There was drama in Cagnes-sur-Mer yesterday when an elderly man threatened to jump from the balcony of his fourth floor apartment. The 80-year-old refused attempts to relocate him to a nursing home. Relatives of the man were able to overpower him and return him inside the apartment, before he was taken to hospital in Antibes.

Nice lotto winners - A couple from Nice has become lotto millionaires. The lucky winners scooped 2.6-million euros in the Euromillions draw. The husband was named as a 30-year-old man with children, but no other details were released. The couple, who bought their ticket in the Saint-Sylvestre neighbourhood in Nice north, apparently plan to buy a house and take a holiday. It is the fourth major lottery win in Nice this year.

Source www.rivieraradio.mc

Madonna's European tour ends in Nice.

Madonna drops swastika from France concert; backs Pussy Riot.

taken from japanpost.com

"Free Pussy Riot!" Madonna had shouted from the stage to a packed stadium in the southern French city. Madonna dropped from her last concert in Europe a swastika that outraged France’s right-wing party but again demanded the freedom of jailed Russian girl punk band Pussy Riot. The video that accompanied the pop icon’s performance in Nice of “Nobody Knows Me” still showed National Front leader Marine Le Pen, but a question mark replaced a swastika that had previously flashed on the politician’s forehead. The appearance of the Nazi symbol at Madonna’s Paris performance last month enraged the party, which launched legal action against the 54-year-old singer and threatened to return to the courts should she use it again. A local party supporter, Gael Nofri, welcomed Madonna’s decision. “As far as I know, Madonna has never changed a video clip. This is proof that our arguments were valid. This is excellent news,” he said. The pop diva used the last gig of a controversy-hit Europe tour to reiterate solidarity with three punk rockers jailed by Russian courts this month over a stunt in a Moscow cathedral criticizing President Vladimir Putin. “Free Pussy Riot!” Madonna shouted from the stage to a packed stadium in the southern French city.

At a concert in Moscow two weeks ago, Madonna donned a balaclava in solidarity with the protest punk band, angering Russian authorities. The punk band wore knitted balaclavas when they performed a “punk prayer” for the ouster of the veteran strongman in the church in February. Madonna drew more criticism in Russia when she called for “love and appreciation for the gay community” at a concert in St Petersburg, which had just banned “homosexual propaganda”. “I’ve seen some very scary things,” the star told the Nice crowd, slamming “intolerance” and calling for the respect of “human dignity”.

“The real deal is freedom and not just for Pussy Riot,” she said, adding later: “Every human being deserves to be treated equally.” “We have to be freedom fighters.” The three Pussy Riot members have been jailed for two years for hooliganism, a sentence that has drawn wide criticism. The Nice performance was Madonna’s last in the Europe leg of a world tour that covers 30 countries, ending in Australia early next year.

The summer hit in the south of France, the stand-up paddle !

Is it because of the crisis that the jetski is out or is stand-up paddle just too cute and sporty to do? Take a large size surfboard, model interior door, a paddle, and then you paddle merrily along the shoreline of Cannes and Mandelieu. Watch out for incoming traffic when you get at Mandelieu on the shelf step! The tourists (who are slowly going back home) can rent this for 1 euro 50, but monitor the time because most rental companies charge this fee per 10 minutes. All locals in southern France have bought a set from Decathlon because in southern France, the summer is far from over. Put the paddle to the water!

Just another reason to live in France!

If you are the happy owner of a second home in France, you are now being charged the same taxes as local residents have to pay. A contentious tax hike affecting foreign owners of second homes has been given the green light by France’s highest constitutional authority. The legislation was approved by the Constitutional Council last Thursday, despite strong claims by many in the property market that it is against EU laws. The law imposes an extra “social charge” of 15.5% on the existing capital gains tax related to the sale of second homes, meaning the original levy will rise from 19% to 34.5%. The same 15.5% “social charge” will be added to the tax of rental income, raising the rate owners have to pay from 20% to 35.5%. The levies will affect all non-residents who own a home in France, including French nationals who live abroad. So you can look at this from two ways; either you get angry by the French authorities that make your rich life less rich, or you take this as a sign from abova;-) You might be better of living in France as a resident. Or if you want to sell your house to the Russians, Chinese, Germans or Dutch, you contact Living at the Cote d'Azur. Jolanda Marinus and Ab Kuijer of Marinus Concierge Services are happy to help you. Call us at 0033659910425