As G7 leaders arrive, barricaded Biarritz leaves swimmers out in the cold
People walk on the Cote des Basques beach on the eve of the G7 summit in
Biarritz, France, August 23, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
BIARRITZ, France (Reuters) – Come rain or shine, every morning of the year Biarritz’s White Urchin swimmers’ club take a one kilometer swim around the Bay of Biscay. But today as they crawl to their favorite spot, the wail of a police speedboat sends a clear message: stay away.
The scene comes less than 24 hours before world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, arrive for a G7 summit in France’s southwest surfing capital to navigate their differences on issues ranging from climate change to Iran and tariffs.
“The police came towards us with their sirens. It was like a cinema sketch,” said Valerie Rey-Lopez, a retiree, who is used to taking to the sea every day.
“I find the G7 an aberration. It’s going to cost us loads. They could do it at the United Nations, which has the security to handle world leaders rather than in a town like this. It’s the taxpayer who will pay.”
Some 13,000 police have been drafted into the elegant seaside town – almost one for every two inhabitants – to secure it and prevent any violent anti-globalization demonstrations that are now anticipated on the nearby Franco-Spanish border.
Authorities estimate the cost at about 36 million euros($40 million).
Biarritz is known for its majestic Hotel du Palais, built in the 19th century as a summer villa for the Empress Eugenie, its art deco casinos and more recently a vibrant surfing culture.
Streets usually filled with holiday-makers hoping to try their luck on the roulette wheels or surfers seeking to ride the Atlantic waves are now patrolled by police with assault rifles, while helicopters zoom overhead and frigates patrol the coast.
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