Monaco Courts Deal With Cases Reminiscent of the Film Title “Smokey and the Bandit”
Violent Duel at dawn between Two Wheelers on Monaco Streets
There are more and more two wheelers on the road. Going green means lots of bicycles share the roads with scooters. Even where there are bike lanes, scooters and bicycles compete for the same space in this small Principality. So it’s not surprising that two-wheelers clash more and more. That doesn’t justify what happened at 7 am one morning when a scooter brushed too close to a cyclist. The follow up wasn’t just a sharp exchange of words, or swearing or even rude gesticulations. The scooterist lost his temper and took a swing at the cyclist with his fits , broke his nose and then kicked him in the stomach. Being a security guard he was well equipped to be physical. The judge took a philosophical tone and tried to knock some sense into the pair in court – to understand that they have to share the road and behave in a civil manner. The victim was claiming a 100.000 euros of damages, somewhat exaggerated after a couple of days sick leave, though clearly having suffered. The aggressor, as could be expected, claimed the cyclist insulted him before he hit him. It was a violent confrontation not tolerated by Monaco’s courts and this ended up with a suspended prison sentence of 8 days and pared down compensation of over 3.000 euros not 100.000!
A Raid on Apartment Caves in Monaco Yields a minor Treasure Trove and also Prison
A grim life of failure for a 27 year Algerian trying to subsist in France. No job and no money he chose the lawless route to get by. His specialty was robbing storage caves in apartment buildings – which quickly got him into severe trouble in Nice and Grasse leading to two stints in prison of over three months in total. Clearly not reforming his behaviour, on release from prison he next tried his hand in Monaco between Christmas and New Year. He had a field day with 18 caves to rob in one building. The concierge alerted the police on finding the cave doors damaged, a screw driver and broken locks strewn around. Thanks to Interpol, fingerprints quickly led to the culprit.
Video-surveillance was a jolt to his defence and possibly feigned lack of memory of his night’s criminal activity. That left a weak excuse of alcohol and a tough life of subsistence to justify his robbing the caves. He made off with quite a hoard of porcelain and a treasure of other collectors’ items that night. The Court did not see any remorse. Neither did they moderate their judgement due to his claim to want to join the Foreign Legion. A sad life and choosing a criminal path landed him a sentence by the Monaco judge of one additional year in jail.
A Cloud of Smoke Smothers the Celebrations of an AS Monaco Lead at Louis Stade
AS Monaco leading Lyon 2 0 at half-time is reason to rejoice. Sing out Dague Monegu at the top of your voice. Do a little jig on the spot, clap hands a celebrate. But don’t endanger the crowd around you. And the Court wanted to get that message clearly across to the young man who had got together with his mates to let off smoke bombs. He knew it was forbidden but got carried away. It is dangerous in a crowded sports facility. The Court did not accept the Prosecution’s recommendation for a fine of 300 euros. Instead the Court took a more severe approach and raised the fine to 500 euros. A little less reason for the AS Monaco supporter to rejoice! Better to sing Dague Monegu and dance.
