{"id":5454,"date":"2015-07-27T12:06:02","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T11:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=5454"},"modified":"2015-07-27T12:06:02","modified_gmt":"2015-07-27T11:06:02","slug":"french-riviera-beach-closed-for-saudi-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/french-riviera-beach-closed-for-saudi-king\/","title":{"rendered":"French Riviera beach closed for Saudi king"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"King<\/a>More than 100,000 people have signed a petition against the closure of a beach on the French Riviera to allow Saudi King Salman to holiday in private.
\nThe petition insists the public beach in Vallauris should be \u201cavailable for the benefit of all\u201d.
\nAuthorities sealed off the beach early on Saturday to prevent any protesters from occupying it as King Salman was due to arrive in the area.
\nThe Saudi monarch is expected to stay at his villa for three weeks.
\nHe and his entourage of about 1,000 people arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747s.
\nThe king\u2019s inner circle is staying at the villa \u2013 between Antibes and Marseille \u2013 while about 700 others will stay at hotels in Cannes.
\nMichel Chevillon, president of an association of Cannes\u2019 hotel managers, said the visit was \u201cclearly good news\u201d for hotels and the local economy.
\n\u201cThese are people with great purchasing power,\u201d he said.
\nHowever, the closure of a section of La Mirandole beach beneath the king\u2019s villa has outraged many local residents.
\n\u201cWe recall that this natural zone, like all maritime public estates, is an intrinsic public property that should be available for the benefit of all, residents, tourists, French, foreigners or people passing through,\u201d the petition says.
\n\u201cWe ask the state to guarantee the fundamental principle of the equality of all citizens before the law.\u201d
\nThe mayor of Vallauris has also written to President Francois Hollande in protest at unauthorized work carried out at the property.
\nA cement platform has been poured on to the beach to provide a lift up to the king\u2019s villa, although the Saudis have promised to remove it when they leave.
\n\u201cWe understand the security reasons and the nation\u2019s greater interest. But nobody can exonerate himself from the laws of the land,\u201d Mayor Michelle Salucki wrote.
\nThere is also a ban on coming within 300m of the villa by sea.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re sick and tired of this messing around,\u201d one local woman said, quoted by AFP news agency.
\n\u201cI can see it\u2019s normal that you need to guarantee their security, but they should let us go for a swim.\u201d -BBC<\/p>\n

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