Crackdown on Illegal workers

Police carried out raids on two Chinese restaurants in the Creuse town of Gueret recently. A man and a woman at the Asiatic restaurant on Rue de Stalingrad were arrested on suspicion of working illegally. The restaurant was also charged with several other offences including failure to keep appropriate staff registers. Representatives from food safety authorities took away meat that was being stored in a way which contravened food hygiene standards. The raid comes on the back of similar activities carried out in Limoges last month. The arrested man (26) revealed a somewhat chequered past when questioned by the police. He originally arrived in France in 2002 after travelling via Kosovo and Italy to get here. He then worked illegally in Paris to start paying back the 10000 euros the journey across Europe had cost him. In 2002 he was discovered and ordered to leave the country but managed to give the authorities the slip. In 2005 he was charged and convicted of being involved in an extortion racket in the capital. This time he was sentenced to 3 years with 18 months suspended. Released after serving only 10 months the man made his way to Gueret as he says the work checks on labour in Paris have made illegal working there much more difficult. The man will be held in detention as will his female colleague pending further investigations.In another incident, police and inspectors from the employment authority URSSAF carried out a raid on road building works at Saint Privat (19). They found several Polish workers who had no Carte de Sejours or other necessary paperwork. All have been charged with working illegally.

Phone Scam Hits the Limousin

Police are warning that many residents of the Limousin have become victims of a mobile phone scam which is currently sweeping the entire country. Text messages are being received by users asking them to contact their service provider ( Orange, SFR and Bouygues) on the following number 06 07 74 52 41. Once dialled the user is asked to dial 09# to verify that their phone is working correctly, on taking this action however the user enables the fraudsters to strip the SIM card of all of its information. In another scam currently doing the rounds users receive a text from "ACE". When the mail from ACE is opened it releases a virus in to the users phone. The authorities stress that you must immediately delete these mails as once activated the virus will completely destroy the SIM card.

Official Opening of Bypass

The new bypass at Aixe sur Vienne was officially opened on 10th November. The ceremony started at 2pm and included an afternoon of talks and exhibits aimed at improving road safety. As part of the afternoons events, cars were displayed that have been involved in road traffic accidents. At 6pm the mood lightened a little with entertainment ending in a pyrotechnic display. All were welcome to attend but could not try out the new bypass as Saturday the 10th was only the official opening with the bypass not opening to traffic until the 12th!

House Sale Rules Change

New rules come in to place this month requiring additional checks to be carried out before a property can change hands. Currently there are laws requiring checks for lead and asbestos energy efficiency as well as termites in certain areas. From now on reports will need to be provided on the safety of the gas supply at a property with the requirement for similar reports on electricity supplies from next year. Historically property reports have had a bad reputation with complaints being made that reports have often been falsified to enable tradesmen to carry out costly but unnecessary work. In the light of these allegations the government has decreed that only qualified assessors should carry out the new reports and to date have trained an additional 5000 new 'experts'. These experts are required to take part in a government run scheme where they obtain a certificate that authorises them to compile the reports required for house sales to take place.

Historic Artifacts Stolen

A historic church in Roseiers d’Egletons, Correze has been attacked by vandals. The XVII century church was damaged in the raid and two valuable statues originating from the same period stolen. The first artifact was an image of the Virgin Mother and child. The second depicted Christ on the Cross. An investigation has been launched Continuing Cannabis Crackdown The College Faidit of Uzerche (19) and the school Caraminot of Egletons(19) were both raided recently as part of a major operation in the fight against drug abuse in the region. Seventy five gendarmes were ivolved in the searches along with specially trained sniffer dogs. Several arrests were made, mainly for the possession of cannabis. In a separate series of raids 27 Cannabis users have been arrested in the Saint Leonard de Noblat area of Haute Vienne.

Correze Mother Jailed for Neglect and Cruelty

A judge has handed out a 10 year sentence to a mother from Correze. The woman was found guilty of 30 separate counts of neglect and cruelty resulting in the death of her 16 month old infant. The Tulle court condemned Isabelle Roquain (30) for her negligence, ignoring the pleas from her defence team for leniency when sentencing. Ms Roquain’s lawyers claimed she was suffering from severe depression at the time following her recent divorce. They also confirmed she had alcohol dependency problems and had made repeated cries for help which had been largely ignored. The man from whom she had divorced Sebastien Mac (32) who was a serving soldier at the time was given a 5 year sentence. The judge condemned Mr Mac for not protecting his daughter by failing to draw attention to the childs desperate circumstances.

More Strikes Planned

Francewas hit by a series of strikes in Nov. The larger towns and cities were worst affected with rail and public transport strikes causing near gridlock at rush hour. Rural dwellers across the Limousin have as yet remained largely unaffected. By Tuesday 20th however thischanged as we saw teachers and other state workers, including gas and electric staff joining the industrial action. Hundreds of students also joined the protests to show solidarity with the strikers and thus the stage looks to be set for a winter of discontent.

And Finally.......Christmas Charity

The charity organization Emmaus held a special Christmas sale on Wednesday 21st November. The sale took place on rue Armand Barbes, Limoges and included toys games and books etc. Every Saturday in the run up to Christmas they will be selling clothes, table ware and jewellery all suitable for Christmas parties. As their founder Abbe Pierre died at the beginning of the year Emmaus are looking to make this years fund raising effort the best ever in a tribute to his memory.

Opening Hours Rue Armand Barbes

Wed and Thursday 2.30 to 6.30.

Saturday 9-12 and 2.30 to 6.00

Saint Priest Tarion (general Bric a Brac)

Tuesday to Friday 2.30 to 5.30

Saturday 9-12 and 2.30 to 5.30