French sunbathers protest Saudi king’s Riviera vacation

Preparations were underway Saturday for the arrival of the king of Saudi Arabia and an entourage of hundreds at the family’s mansion on the French Riviera, while tens of thousands of residents rallied against the closing of the public beach outside the location.

Word that King Salman was expected got out when workers began closing off the small public beach outside the mansion and laid a cement slab on the sand so they could install a temporary elevator.

The head of security for the Alpes-Maritime region on Friday confirmed the beach will be closed during the visit. Francois-Xavier Lauch wouldn’t confirm reports of a royal entourage of 1,000, but said that 400 to 500 rooms at luxury hotels in Cannes are reserved.

Serge Reinhard, director of the four-star Hotel Montaigne in Cannes where half of the rooms have been booked by Saudis, said the visit would reap financial benefits for businesses in the area. “The economic impact for us, but also restaurants, chauffeurs and all those who worked at his villa, is real,” he told Reuters.

Meanwhile, a petition against the “privatization” of the beach below the Saudi mansion garnered upwards of 100,000 signatures in only one week, according to Reuters. “We understand the security reasons and the nation’s greater interest. But nobody can exonerate himself from the laws of the land,” Vallauris mayor Michelle Salucki wrote, referring to the construction work at the Riviera the beach.

Protesting sunbathers managed to temporarily halt the work, but permits were later delivered on orders from French authorities — a sign the visit is imminent, though no one will say exactly when the king will arrive.