The OFFICIAL Monaco and French Riviera Thread.
#812
01-27-2014, 08:13 AM
French Riviera NEWS
Provence & Côte d’Azur: The man ordered employees to get down on the floor and threatened them with a gun
Jewellery robbery in Cannes
A jewellery store in Cannes was targetted by an armed thief on the weekend, who reportedly disguised himself as an old man. Employees were threatened by the assailant, but that didn't stop them from running after him as he fled the store.
On the morning of Saturday 18th January, the man entered jewellery store ‘GB’ in Cannes and threatened three employees with a gun. They were reportedly ordered to get down on the floor and put their hands over their knees.
The thief grabbed mostly Rolex jewellery, estimated at over 100,000 euros.
He then fled the store, followed closely by the employees, who managed to take down the car’s registration number. He was driving a white Ford Fiesta, which was later found abandoned in Cannes.
A police investigation continues.
Provence & Côte d’Azur: The man ordered employees to get down on the floor and threatened them with a gun
Jewellery robbery in Cannes
A jewellery store in Cannes was targetted by an armed thief on the weekend, who reportedly disguised himself as an old man. Employees were threatened by the assailant, but that didn't stop them from running after him as he fled the store.
On the morning of Saturday 18th January, the man entered jewellery store ‘GB’ in Cannes and threatened three employees with a gun. They were reportedly ordered to get down on the floor and put their hands over their knees.
The thief grabbed mostly Rolex jewellery, estimated at over 100,000 euros.
He then fled the store, followed closely by the employees, who managed to take down the car’s registration number. He was driving a white Ford Fiesta, which was later found abandoned in Cannes.
A police investigation continues.
#815
02-03-2014, 04:14 AM
French Riviera NEWS
Fake police rob travellers
POLICE and gendarmes have stepped up controls and surveillance on autoroutes after an increase in reports of fake police robbing travellers.
A couple driving on the A31 near Longvic (Côte-d'Or) were pulled over by a dark Peugeot 206 with a blue flashing light on the roof at 2.00 in the morning. The two fake police - both of African origin with one wearing what looked like a police jacket - searched the driver and took €3,200 from his wife's handbag.
Earlier that night, what seemed like the same two men had stopped two German tourists between Langres and Dijon under the pretext of a cocaine drug search. They stole valuables from the car as well as their wallets.
The Interior Ministry has called on police to increase patrols and get more information on the thieves. So far they are investigating around 100 robberies or attempted robberies.
Ten people suspected of being involved in a network of fake police in the south of France were arrested in June. But the attacks continued and two drivers were robbed in an aire (rest area) on the A7 and Russian tourists lost €4,000 when attacked on the A6.
Other attempts have been reported in Bourgogne, Vaucluse, Drôme, Var, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône departments.
In the Paris area, on the A6 near Ivry, a motorcyclist was punched in the face and had his bike stolen by three men wearing police armbands who had flagged him down in a car with a blue flashing light.
Police sources told Le Figaro the majority of the robbery attempts had forced drivers to stop on the hard shoulder but police preferred to get drivers to pull into aires as there was less risk of accident. They added that it was permitted to ask police to show their identity cards.
Fake police rob travellers
POLICE and gendarmes have stepped up controls and surveillance on autoroutes after an increase in reports of fake police robbing travellers.
A couple driving on the A31 near Longvic (Côte-d'Or) were pulled over by a dark Peugeot 206 with a blue flashing light on the roof at 2.00 in the morning. The two fake police - both of African origin with one wearing what looked like a police jacket - searched the driver and took €3,200 from his wife's handbag.
Earlier that night, what seemed like the same two men had stopped two German tourists between Langres and Dijon under the pretext of a cocaine drug search. They stole valuables from the car as well as their wallets.
The Interior Ministry has called on police to increase patrols and get more information on the thieves. So far they are investigating around 100 robberies or attempted robberies.
Ten people suspected of being involved in a network of fake police in the south of France were arrested in June. But the attacks continued and two drivers were robbed in an aire (rest area) on the A7 and Russian tourists lost €4,000 when attacked on the A6.
Other attempts have been reported in Bourgogne, Vaucluse, Drôme, Var, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône departments.
In the Paris area, on the A6 near Ivry, a motorcyclist was punched in the face and had his bike stolen by three men wearing police armbands who had flagged him down in a car with a blue flashing light.
Police sources told Le Figaro the majority of the robbery attempts had forced drivers to stop on the hard shoulder but police preferred to get drivers to pull into aires as there was less risk of accident. They added that it was permitted to ask police to show their identity cards.
#817
02-05-2014, 07:50 AM
Monaco NEWS
He was a very good guy!! Class act and elegant. May you rest in peace!
Monaco mourns an entrepreneurial giant and high profile figure in the Principality
Michel Pastor dies aged 70
One of the most emblematic figures in the Principality of Monaco, whose construction company cranes dominate the skyline, passed away yesterday at the age of 70 after a long illness. Michel Pastor, builder, art collector, chairman of AS Monaco Football Club from 2004-2008, and owner of the luxury food brand Hédiard for 12 years, was a man of many facets.
Born 1944, his father was Gildo Pastor, son of Jean-Baptiste, a stone cutter who arrived on the Rock in the 1880s and gave birth to a dynasty that became one of the wealthiest families in Europe.
One of three, Michel Pastor had a higher profile than either his brother Victor (died 2002) or sister Hélène, frequently being seen with his wife Catherine at high society dinners and involved in the life of the Principality on many levels.
As well as his AS Monaco chair, he was chairman of the Monaco Chamber of Economic Development from 1999 to 2009 and the Grimaldi Forum culture and conference centre, and also CEO of the Michel Pastor Group (MPG), which he ran with his son Jean-Baptiste.
An avid art collector, Michel owned works by César, Armand and Fernand Leger, among others, and was president of the very active Maison de l’Amérique Latine art association and Honorary Consul of Peru.
His eldest daughter, Alexandra, is married to David Halliday, son of France’s favourite rocker, Johnny, and other daughter Delphine is president of the Michel Pastor Group’s subsidiary John Taylor, an upmarket real estate agency.
His group was behind the Monte Carlo View, Garden House, Le Floridian and the Novotel, and owns the Columbia and Houston Palace on avenue Princesse Grace. MPG is not to be confused with J.B. Pastor et fils, named after the grandfather’s original company, run by Patrice and Jean-Victor - Victor’s sons. They are behind the striking 179m-high Simona residence, whose lacy white concrete structure hides 24 luxury duplex apartments each with its own pool.
Tributes have been pouring in for Michel Pastor, who in April 2011 was made an officer in France’s Legion d’honneur. An official statement from the Monaco government said that not only was he an entrepreneur involved in the economic development of Monaco, but also "a man dedicated to humanitarian, sporting and cultural causes" in the Principality.
He was a very good guy!! Class act and elegant. May you rest in peace!
Monaco mourns an entrepreneurial giant and high profile figure in the Principality
Michel Pastor dies aged 70
One of the most emblematic figures in the Principality of Monaco, whose construction company cranes dominate the skyline, passed away yesterday at the age of 70 after a long illness. Michel Pastor, builder, art collector, chairman of AS Monaco Football Club from 2004-2008, and owner of the luxury food brand Hédiard for 12 years, was a man of many facets.
Born 1944, his father was Gildo Pastor, son of Jean-Baptiste, a stone cutter who arrived on the Rock in the 1880s and gave birth to a dynasty that became one of the wealthiest families in Europe.
One of three, Michel Pastor had a higher profile than either his brother Victor (died 2002) or sister Hélène, frequently being seen with his wife Catherine at high society dinners and involved in the life of the Principality on many levels.
As well as his AS Monaco chair, he was chairman of the Monaco Chamber of Economic Development from 1999 to 2009 and the Grimaldi Forum culture and conference centre, and also CEO of the Michel Pastor Group (MPG), which he ran with his son Jean-Baptiste.
An avid art collector, Michel owned works by César, Armand and Fernand Leger, among others, and was president of the very active Maison de l’Amérique Latine art association and Honorary Consul of Peru.
His eldest daughter, Alexandra, is married to David Halliday, son of France’s favourite rocker, Johnny, and other daughter Delphine is president of the Michel Pastor Group’s subsidiary John Taylor, an upmarket real estate agency.
His group was behind the Monte Carlo View, Garden House, Le Floridian and the Novotel, and owns the Columbia and Houston Palace on avenue Princesse Grace. MPG is not to be confused with J.B. Pastor et fils, named after the grandfather’s original company, run by Patrice and Jean-Victor - Victor’s sons. They are behind the striking 179m-high Simona residence, whose lacy white concrete structure hides 24 luxury duplex apartments each with its own pool.
Tributes have been pouring in for Michel Pastor, who in April 2011 was made an officer in France’s Legion d’honneur. An official statement from the Monaco government said that not only was he an entrepreneur involved in the economic development of Monaco, but also "a man dedicated to humanitarian, sporting and cultural causes" in the Principality.
#819
02-10-2014, 08:20 AM
Monaco NEWS
Monaco: The thieves were spotted suspiciously lingering outside Tiffany & Co. in Paris
Monaco jewellery arrests
Four suspects have been arrested for stealing a ring worth 450,000 euros in Monaco. They allegedly managed to replace the ring with a fake replica, which looked so realistic the crime went unnoticed for an entire day. Their next target, say police: Tiffany's in Paris.
On Thursday 30th January, the two men of Chinese ethnicity entered jewellery store Fred in Monte Carlo. There, they were allegedly able to plant a replica and pocket the original ring, worth almost half a million euros. It wasn't until the following day that a salesperson noticed the theft and notified authorities, who sent out a Europe-wide alert. Profiles of the thieves were captured from video surveillance and forwarded to luxury retailers throughout the EU.
Police say the theives then planned to attempt the heist on one of the world's most famous jewellery stores in Paris.
On Saturday 1st February in Paris, employees at the Tiffany & Co. department store in Galeries Lafayette reportedly spotted two men matching the descriptions, accompanied by two other men, lingering outside the windows of the iconic department store. Police were called and the four men were arrested and taken into custody for ‘conspiracy to commit theft by an organised gang’. The suspects were reportedly found in possession of fake replicas resembling jewellery that was in the windows of Tiffany's.
French media report that investigators also found evidence linking the thieves to the Monaco theft.
Monaco: The thieves were spotted suspiciously lingering outside Tiffany & Co. in Paris
Monaco jewellery arrests
Four suspects have been arrested for stealing a ring worth 450,000 euros in Monaco. They allegedly managed to replace the ring with a fake replica, which looked so realistic the crime went unnoticed for an entire day. Their next target, say police: Tiffany's in Paris.
On Thursday 30th January, the two men of Chinese ethnicity entered jewellery store Fred in Monte Carlo. There, they were allegedly able to plant a replica and pocket the original ring, worth almost half a million euros. It wasn't until the following day that a salesperson noticed the theft and notified authorities, who sent out a Europe-wide alert. Profiles of the thieves were captured from video surveillance and forwarded to luxury retailers throughout the EU.
Police say the theives then planned to attempt the heist on one of the world's most famous jewellery stores in Paris.
On Saturday 1st February in Paris, employees at the Tiffany & Co. department store in Galeries Lafayette reportedly spotted two men matching the descriptions, accompanied by two other men, lingering outside the windows of the iconic department store. Police were called and the four men were arrested and taken into custody for ‘conspiracy to commit theft by an organised gang’. The suspects were reportedly found in possession of fake replicas resembling jewellery that was in the windows of Tiffany's.
French media report that investigators also found evidence linking the thieves to the Monaco theft.
#820
02-13-2014, 04:02 AM
French Riviera NEWS
Provence & Côte d’Azur: cases are becoming increasingly common in the region
Robbers in disguise
Police in the Var are warning residents of an elaborate scam in which thieves are disguised as police officers. The scammers are taking advantage of the trust and gullibility of their victims - which are normally the elderly.
After a series of cases in September and a more recent scam in the Draguignan area, the police department in the Var is warning residents to beware con people tricking them into believing they are police officers.
This type of theft usually lasts for a very short period of time, say police, but is repeated on a large scale and the men are very efficient in their scams. Recently there have been increasing cases in which robbers pretend to be police officers in order to steal from people in their homes.
The scam always appears to be the same: firstly, someone pretending to be an agent from a company arrives at the victim’s home, claiming they need to check water flow or gas pipes. Later, two or three men posing as policemen arrive, stating there was a thief in the area under the disguise of an agent. They then ask the victim if they are missing any jewellery or money from their home. Without realising, the resident leads the thieves straight to all their valuables and money.
The victims targeted are most often elderly people.
Police are advising residents to ask for identification when in doubt, and not to hesitate in saying you’re unavailable.
Provence & Côte d’Azur: cases are becoming increasingly common in the region
Robbers in disguise
Police in the Var are warning residents of an elaborate scam in which thieves are disguised as police officers. The scammers are taking advantage of the trust and gullibility of their victims - which are normally the elderly.
After a series of cases in September and a more recent scam in the Draguignan area, the police department in the Var is warning residents to beware con people tricking them into believing they are police officers.
This type of theft usually lasts for a very short period of time, say police, but is repeated on a large scale and the men are very efficient in their scams. Recently there have been increasing cases in which robbers pretend to be police officers in order to steal from people in their homes.
The scam always appears to be the same: firstly, someone pretending to be an agent from a company arrives at the victim’s home, claiming they need to check water flow or gas pipes. Later, two or three men posing as policemen arrive, stating there was a thief in the area under the disguise of an agent. They then ask the victim if they are missing any jewellery or money from their home. Without realising, the resident leads the thieves straight to all their valuables and money.
The victims targeted are most often elderly people.
Police are advising residents to ask for identification when in doubt, and not to hesitate in saying you’re unavailable.