French beach closed for Saudi king's holiday reopens

A beach in the south of France that was closed for the Saudi king has reopened after he cut his holiday short.

King Salman had been due to stay for three weeks on the French Riviera, but left after only eight days to travel to Tangiers in Morocco.

A public beach in Vallauris was closed for the king's visit, causing an uproar among locals.

But the beach was reopened on Monday morning, and a lift installed for the king was being dismantled.

"All the security measures are gradually being lifted," the region's sub-prefect Philippe Castanet told France Bleu (in French).

Jean-Noel Falcou, a town councillor in Vallauris who lodged a petition against the changes to the beach, welcomed the news that it had reopened.

"All the illegal building work, all the trouble it caused, all the refusal of dialogue by the French state - all of that for only eight days of holiday for the Saudi king," he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

More than 100,000 people signed a petition against the closure of the beach. Critics of the move said it was a breach of French laws on equality.

The Mirandole beach is directly below King Salman's private villa and French officials agreed to seal it off for the monarch's security.

Building the lift had involved pouring a large concrete slab on the sand.

While some in the community were unhappy at the closure of the beach, many traders warmly welcomed the king and his wealthy entourage.

Around half of King Salman's 1,000-strong entourage left with him, Mr Castanet said.

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