The restrictions include a ban on watering gardens, filling pools, and washing cars.
In light of the fact that people seem to be paying no attention to the regulation, the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales has decided to introduce severe punishments for violations of water restrictions, which will come into force on Thursday. People can now face fines of up to €1,500 and business up to €7,500.
In conversation with newspaper Libération, Chateauneuf-Grasse Mayor Emmanuel Delmotte particularly voiced his anger over the fact that foreign VIPs are allegedly completely ignoring the water restrictions. According to a list compiled by the local politician, among the perpetrators are former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Belgian King Albert, and Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.
Mayor Delmotte concluded by saying that he tried warning the people in question, but they allegedly ignored him: “They simply call a minister or a president, they have diplomatic immunity.”
The court responded to the mayor’s accusations in a press release published on Thursday afternoon. The Grand Ducal family had indeed owned property in the municipality, but had rented it out from 2020 and later sold it in 2022. The Marshal of the Court said this meant the family did not bear responsibility for the overconsumption of water.
As for the estate of the Grand Ducal family in Cabasson, the consumption over the summer months here came to around 52 cubic metres per month. The family always paid attention to the department’s regulations surrounding water usage in times of drought, the statement continued.
