Saudi king leaves France after 8 days of beach controversy

Back to normal: Sun-worshippers reclaim Mirandole on Monday.

Castanet said in an email to The Associated Press that the king had left as planned.

“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.

The royal party generated mixed emotions among the local population.

An autocratic king who rules oil-rich Saudi Arabia with an iron fist, King Salman owns a number of opulent properties around the world including a luxury villa in the prime Mediterranean resort.

The source claimed King Salman’s team carefully followed normal procedures and arrangements for high-security visitors, adding that the king respected the French public and hoped to visit to Cannes next year.

Whilst local traders welcomed the economic boom is huge entourage of well-paid staff brought to the area, residents were left fuming by the closure of the public beach.

King Salman made an early exit on Sunday from the Cote d’Azur only eight days into what was initially billed as a month-long vacation.

Beachgoers had briefly won a halt to the preparations for his arrival, delaying the elevator construction and closure of the beach.

His group had planned to deliver a petition against the closure on Tuesday, the anniversary of the 1789 abolition of feudalism in France.

“There really aren’t many of us using this beach”, she said.

The Saudi visit attracted further controversy last week when it was alleged that two female police officers, posted there for security, were asked to leave by French authorities “because they did not want women guarding them”, according to the Daily Mail. This kind of discrimination should not be going on in France.’.