RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: Environmental statist lunacy at the St Tropez beach  Thu Aug 19, 2010 6:32 am | |
| Paris: Club owners along a select St Tropez beach made famous by Brigitte Bardot are threatening "strike" action over plans to close stretches of sand to obey new environmental rules.
Pampelonne beach has been a favourite with the world's jet set since the 1950s when Bardot was filmed frolicking along its three miles of white sands in the film And God Created Woman.
Today, it is awash with beautiful people, actors and billionaires, from Paris and Nicky Hilton to Leonardo di Caprio and Naomi Campbell.
Brigitte Bardot and a stretch of Pampelonne beach.
Brigitte Bardot and a stretch of Pampelonne beach.
Valets at clubs such as the Voile Rouge park customers' Bugattis as they dine on fish with a sea view or enjoy a massage on a private lounger with their yachts moored nearby.
But an unusual air of revolt has swept through the beach's 28 clubs over a plan by the local mayor to reduce the number of establishments to 23 and shrink the private beach area to prevent the erosion of a dune and rare plant life.
The plan would also force establishments to dismantle their beach clubs and restaurants every six months to allow the sandy area to "recover" from tourist wear and tear, and then rebuild them.
Roland Bruno, the mayor of Ramatuelle, with administrative control of Pampelonne beach, said: "We must preserve the economy of the beach and the spirit of Pampelonne. But we also need to preserve the beach."
Owners are furious. Patrice de Colmont runs Club 55, one of the beach's most select venues, and is among those leading the battle against the plans. His parents put Pampelonne on the map in 1956 by serving food to Miss Bardot, Roger Vadim and his film crew from their wood cabin.
"You don't just raze everything to the ground and start from scratch. We've been here for 60 years. They don't have the right [to do this]; neither for us nor our children," he said.
He said the new rules came from "technocrats" bent on destroying the beach's soul. "If the height regulations for buildings in Paris suddenly changed, they wouldn't just cut off the top of the Eiffel Tower. Well, I consider Pampelonne to be the Eiffel Tower of the French Riviera. It's a historical monument," he said.
As a result, he and the other beach club owners threatened to go on "strike" and close Pampelonne.
He said Joan Collins was among the stars and business leaders to phone and offer their support.
The strike threat has worried the mayor, as Pampelonne generates euros &euro38 million in business annually and up to 800 jobs.
A public inquiry is being conducted at the town hall and its conclusions will be published on September 17. The owners say they will strike if the plan is upheld.
Roland Bruno, the mayor of Ramatuelle, said he was obliged to enforce French law on reducing clubs' size and number. "Our aim is not to break Pampelonne, far from it. But the state obliges us to follow the law," he said.
"The owners want to keep everything as it is today, without competition and with a minimum of investment. We have already saved Pampelonne, they want to save themselves."
ANCAPS: ANARCHO-CAPITALISTS |
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