French nudists in a battle royal with Saudis
Bathers on the Riviera are incensed by a plan to block access to a public beach for ‘safety reasons’
FRENCH bathers have accused King Salman of Saudi Arabia of commandeering a public Riviera beach – a favourite among nudists – for his own private use during a forthcoming visit.
Residents are threatening to sue the Saudi king over an attempt to block an underpass leading to the public Mirandole beach at Vallauris – between Antibes and Cannes – with fencing.
They are also furious that workers have begun illegal construction work on a huge concrete slab that is apparently being built on the sand especially for the visit.
Under French law, the beach is normally open to local bathers, with part of it reserved for nudists. A neighbour- ing villa was bought by the late King Fahd around 20 years ago.
“It happened on Friday between midday and 2pm,” Daniel Guileminot, a nearby resident, told Nice Matin.
“Workers poured a slab of concrete right on the sand. They erected fences around it and works are continuing,” he said. “The dust and the noise are stopping us from enjoying this idyllic place.” He added that workers had even advised one woman to make the most of the beach now, “because soon there will be no access at all”.
Another resident said that the builders had told him that they were working for the Saudi royal family. “They advised me not to hang around in the area for long.”
Blandine Ackermann, the president of the Association for the Defence of the Golfe-Juan and Vallauris Environment, threatened to file a legal complaint unless the beach remained open and was restored to its original condition. “This concrete slab is taking up half the beach. It’s an outrage,” she told
The Daily Telegraph. She added: “If the king feels unsafe on the beach then he should stay in his villa. Already the property has very high walls and is totally closed. It’s a fortress.
“He never swims anyway. I’ve never seen anyone from the villa swim there. They have decided to annex part of the beach but it doesn’t belong to them. We’re not in Saudi Arabia here,” she said. “They think they can do here what they do at home, but we must defend this coastline, even if the law is very poorly respected.” When the mayor of Vallauris, Michelle Salucki, was informed of the works, she called police, who were sent to stop the construction and ensure that access to the beach via the tunnel remained open.
Local authorities, however, confirmed that the beach would be closed to the public during the impending visit by Saudi royalty, for safety reasons. Philippe Castanet the sub-prefect of the nearby town of Grasse did concede that work had started prematurely and said talks were continuing over how best to ensure the royal family’s security during the visit.
More talks with representatives of the Saudis were taking place yesterday. Mr Castanet however, insisted that, for safety reasons, “the public beach should be totally closed off to the public for the entire stay of the family”.
He added: “The problem is not about his majesty being able to calmly swim in the sea, the problem is that one cannot imagine that the public can use this beach if a head of state comes. The question wouldn’t be raised if Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin came here on holiday. It’s perfectly logical.”
He said it was still undecided whether to use “private security guards or policemen”, “fencing or not”, and “when we can return this area to the public in as short a time as possible”.
This is by no means the first run-in between locals and the Saudi royal family at Vallauris. In 1995, King Fahd lost a legal battle to close a coastal path that ran close to his property and was ordered to remove a machine gun pointing out to sea. He was also blocked from building a parking bay for his yacht.
In 2012, environmentalists and anticorruption group Anticor 06 filed a legal complaint after politicians granted the Saudis the right to build two villas with bars worth €64 million (£45 million) on protected land around a ruined castle. The local prosecutor is due to decide shortly whether to pursue an investigation into the complaint.