Section:GDN 1N PaGe:24 Edition Date:190724 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 23/7/2019 18:53 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Wednesday 24 July 2019
(^24) World
Nudists in Paris naturist park
object to ‘perverts in bushes’
“Voyeurs and exhibitionists come
and bother the women ... of course
they are afraid,” one naturist, Bernard,
told Le Monde. “Sometimes a police
unit comes by, but if they don’t catch
anyone in fl agrante , they can’t punish
anyone.” Others complained of “per-
verts hiding in bushes”.
The local mayor, Catherine Baratti-
Elbaz , said police had been asked to
increase park patrols after reports of
“voyeurism and exhibitionism”, but
the police commissioner, Hugo Arer ,
said he had not received any formal
complaints this year.
Laurent Luft , the president of the
Paris Naturist Association , who was
involved in choosing the Bois de Vin-
cennes site as a naturist zone, insisted
problems were being exaggerated.
“After I heard of these complaints, I
spoke to a male friend who goes to this
naturist area every single day; he told
me he’d never seen any sordid activ-
ity or activities that don’t correspond
to the idea of naturism,” Luft said. He
admitted the experience might be dif-
ferent for women.
“If I were a woman I’m not sure if I’d
go there, but lots of my female friends
do. Any nudist area like a beach, or
even an ordinary beach where there
are women in bikinis, will attract an
element of frustrated men.”
France is one of the world’s leading
naturist destinations, with 4.7 million
nudists, French and visitors, accord-
ing to the French Naturist Federation.
“Nobody has been arrested in the
Bois de Vincennes naturist zone,” Luft
said. “It’s a beautiful place and if we
abandon it then they [voyeurs] have
won; except they haven’t, because
then they wouldn’t have anyone to
look at.”
More than 2. 1 million French people
make nudism a regular habit. Across
the country 460 areas are reserved
to enjoy while naked, including 155
campsites and 73 beaches. Nudists are
also creatively catered for : last year,
one Paris art gallery gave 200 people
a clothes-free viewing.
Dutch actor
arrested over
TV drug dealer
‘experiment’
Jennifer Rankin
Brussels
A Dutch actor arrested in Belgium for
drug dealing has claimed that large
amounts of cocaine and ecstasy found
at her rental fl at were “an experiment”
to help her prepare for a TV role.
Imanuelle Grives , a 34-year-old TV
and fi lm star, was stopped by police
at the Belgian electronic music fes-
tival Tomorrowland in Boom, near
Antwerp, and found to be carrying a
large quantity of drugs, according to
prosecutors.
A later search of an Airbn b property
she was renting in the area revealed
more than 20 grams of cocaine, about
100 ecstasy pills, ketamine and MDMA.
Stephanie Chomé of the Antwerp
public prosecutor’s offi ce told Belgian
media that the ketamine and MDMA
were found in such quantities they
could only be intended for sale.
Grives appeared before a magistrate
on Monday, on suspicion of traffi cking
and possession of psychotropic sub-
stances. Two other suspects initially
arrested with her were later released.
But a lawyer for the actor claimed
that the large amounts of drugs were
just an “experiment” for a new TV
show.
“I thought it was an unlikely story
at fi rst,” the unnamed lawyer told the
Belgian daily De Morgen. The lawyer
said Grives really wanted to under-
stand what it was like to sell drugs at
a music festival in preparation for a TV
show. The show has not been named.
“She now realises it was a very stu-
pid action,” the lawyer said, adding
that her case was very diff erent from
“standard” drug dealers or people
addicted to drugs. “We hope that the
judge will also fi nd her story plausible
and hopefully it will all turn out better
than expected.”
Grives is due to appear before a
judge on Friday.
She is well known to Dutch and
Flemish TV viewers for her role in the
long-running police drama Maastricht
Cops (Flikken Maastricht) and the 2012
Belgian comedy-drama Only Decent
People.
Easiest bust ever as police car hit
by van packed with crystal meth
Lisa Martin
Sydney
Australia n police have hailed one of the
“easiest” drug busts ever after a van
carrying £113m worth of the “ crystal
meth” form of the drug methamphet-
amine crashed into parked patrol cars
outside a Sydney police station.
The suspected driver, 26, faces three
charges including drug traffi cking and
negligent driving, New South Wales
police said.
The crash happened on Monday at
10.30am outside Eastwood police sta-
tion in north-west Sydney, and offi cers
said the Toyota HiAce van did not stop.
Offi cers heard a loud bang and checked
video surveillance.
One of the police vehicles – a Holden
Commodore – was written off.
Police caught up with the van in the
nearby suburb of Ryde, searched the
vehicle and seized 273kg of the drug,
known as “ice ”, which has an esti-
mated street value of A$200m.
“This would be one of the
easiest drug busts NSW police have
ever made,” Det Ch Insp Glyn Baker
told reporters in Sydney yesterday.
“This man has certainly had a very,
very bad day. Crashing into a police
vehicle with that amount of drugs on
board is somewhat unheard of – it’s an
exceptional set of circumstances.” The
drugs were being carried inside sealed
packing boxes.
Baker said it was unclear what
caused the driver to swerve into the
police cars. The police investigation is
now targeting a wider syndicate. Baker
appealed for motorists who may have
dash-cam footage of the crash to con-
tact police.
The suspect appeared at Burwood
local court in Sydney yesterday and
was refused bail.
Hostile
climate
The Swedish
activist Greta
Thunberg
(centre)
before her
appearance
at the French
National
Assembly.
She responded
to rightwing
MPs who
boycotted her
speech, telling
them: ‘You
don’t have to
listen to us, but
you do have
to listen to the
science.’
PHOTOGRAPH: LIONEL
BONAVENTURE/AFP
Kim Willsher
Paris
Naturists in Paris have complained
that perverts in the park are spoiling
their naked enjoyment.
The nudists say they are pestered by
voyeurs and exhibitionists in an area
of the city’s Bois de Vincennes where
for the last two years they have been
allowed to shed their clothes.
Nearly a hectare (two acres) of the
park is set aside for naturists from
April to October. When the zone was
opened, offi cials said no inappropriate
behaviour would be tolerated, a warn-
ing reiterated on a sign at the entrance.
Now a number of naturists have
complained their peace is being dis-
turbed by the “reprehensible” actions
of some non-nudists.
▲ Wrecked police car and the drugs
discovered after the hit-and-run crash
▲ Naked yoga in progress in the
Bois de Vincennes naturist zone
▲ Imanuelle Grives – held at festival
‘Exhibitionists and
voyeurs come and
bother the women’
Bernard
Naturist
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