[LM24] Fun and Games in La Sarthe

[Samoan Attorney]

There is an unholy row brewing in Le Mans as reported by Le Maine Libre - the dispute has been going for over a week and now the race is being threatened......

Never a dull day in France.............


And from the news report

Norman Bruch, president of Cidunati, and representative of fairground, announces the intentions of his community between Le Mans and Angers on the occasion of the visit of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron.

"They are already somewhere in Angers. They are waiting for me. Here, the HQ is put back in place. We will be between 300 and 400 because we expect reinforcement. After, I launch the demonstration and I go to Angers. With friends, we go to the prefecture and the airport. We will hold until April 7 but after, we will not let go. We will block the 24 Hours motorcycle, auto, the Grand Prix de France, he threatens. And tomorrow (Friday), notice of events will be sent. We left to hold until April 2020. And from today, there will be no more events in downtown Le Mans. "


Attachments area

[batmobile]

Waiting for seeing the 70000 spectators and bikers arriving in front of them..........

[Kpy]

Seems that things have calmed down in Le Mans now.
We had a similar situation in Rouen a few years ago. In the end the fairground operators backed down.

[GT6]

Originally Posted by Kpy

Seems that things have calmed down in Le Mans now.
We had a similar situation in Rouen a few years ago. In the end the fairground operators backed down.

not much let of the old fairground at le mans, i remember the time when the whole area around TR was fairground and the rides where to say the least not either PC or health and safety compliant, but they were fun.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by GT6

not much let of the old fairground at le mans, i remember the time when the whole area around TR was fairground and the rides where to say the least not either PC or health and safety compliant, but they were fun.

Yes indeed Simon. Fun of a rather naughty type, plus the Wall of Death, the boxing, a haunted house with an up-skirt compressed air jet, bikini-clad girls up-close with "rats" (coypu) or snakes and a couple of strip shows that attracted huge queues.
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

The current disputes are nothing to do with the circuit fairground.
Le Mans and other large towns are trying to kill off the location of seasonal fairs in town centres and relocate them to sites on the periphery. Understandably, the showmen aren't so keen.

[vincegail]

And they shouldn't be! The same has happened in Antwerp, where a few NIMBY's forced the fairground away from its traditional location for over a century to the outskirts of the city, leading to a drop in visitors of 30 - 40 %

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by vincegail

And they shouldn't be! The same has happened in Antwerp, where a few NIMBY's forced the fairground away from its traditional location for over a century to the outskirts of the city, leading to a drop in visitors of 30 - 40 %

Yup, Vince, how right you are.
Push the fair away from the town centre to some anonymous venue and thus kill the fair.
I'm really sad to hear that that has happened in Antwerp.

[Samoan Attorney]

La Maine Libre reports that the fairground folks have suspended their plans to blockade the city during the period running up to the 24h Moto.

However they are commencing legal action to get the numerous parking tickets issued during their blockade withdrawn. They also want an inquiry into the circumstances that led to a demonstrator suffering a serious foot injury in clashes with the police last week in the city centre...........they are holding the mayor responsible.

If they do not get satisfaction they say they will be back............

All of the above is my poor attempt to translate.....if anyone local knows better please correct my post.

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by GT6

not much let of the old fairground at le mans, i remember the time when the whole area around TR was fairground and the rides where to say the least not either PC or health and safety compliant, but they were fun.

Indeed they were great times. In the sober light of Sunday morning the roller coaster ride didn't seem such a good idea, seeing as how it was balanced on pieces of 4x2. And the girls...well you see as much flesh on the average night out in any suburban town these days.

But the karting! Ah, why the team managers didn't come up from the pits and immediately snap up the talent on display for the big race is beyond me! Or so it seemed at the time......

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[Kpy]

Originally Posted by midgetman

the girls...well you see as much flesh on the average night out in any suburban town these days.

Perhaps you're not talking about the girls in the strip show who ended up naked, buff naked, and who had the talent of catching objects, well coins anyway, with parts of their anatomy that the current President of the USA once said you could grab girls by if you were a star. Sometimes the coins were heated-up using cigarette lighters, resulting in the understandable fury of the girls involved and bouncers seeking out the offenders.
I've yet to see that on an average night out in any suburban town, but then I lack that experience these days - do tell if i'm wrong.

[GT6]

Originally Posted by Kpy

Perhaps you're not talking about the girls in the strip show who ended up naked, buff naked, and who had the talent of catching objects, well coins anyway, with parts of their anatomy that the current President of the USA once said you could grab girls by if you were a star. Sometimes the coins were heated-up using cigarette lighters, resulting in the understandable fury of the girls involved and bouncers seeking out the offenders.
I've yet to see that on an average night out in any suburban town, but then I lack that experience these days - do tell if i'm wrong.

I missed out on that particular show, can't see how i missed out in the 33 years i have been but there was always plenty to see.

[Aysedasi]

You missed those Simon? They were still going strong when I first went and I 'indulged' in 86 and 87, as it was the done thing to do. In reality it was all exceptionally seedy and unpleasant and I gave up after 87 and I don't think they lasted very much longer. I do remember in 87 one member of the Tourists on what proved to be his one and only visit to Le Mans paying several visits to that particular part of the fairground. Whenever he went missing from the group, we knew where he'd be found. I don't think he'd ever seen a strip show before.....

[midgetman]

Strewth I certainly did miss that! It was never that exciting when I visited. The girls I watched were pretty rough and made an art of not showing a great deal for your money. I'm not sure I was that impressed and preferred to invest my money in the beer or the karting.

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[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by midgetman

Strewth I certainly did miss that! It was never that exciting when I visited. The girls I watched were pretty rough and made an art of not showing a great deal for your money. I'm not sure I was that impressed and preferred to invest my money in the beer or the karting.

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Hmmm, they certainly showed everything when I went. Surreal in what was effectively the back of a lorry.......

[midgetman]

Maybe my memory is playing tricks. It *was* a long time ago ......

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[GT6]

Must admit in the early days money was tight so i tried hard not to pay for things, however did do the karting ~(original one on dirt track) bumper cars and the wall of death show

[batmobile]

Just now at the circuit for the 24hours motorbikes. Went here yesterday. No faiirground folks at all.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

[Samoan Attorney]

Originally Posted by batmobile

Just now at the circuit for the 24hours motorbikes. Went here yesterday. No faiirground folks at all.

Envoyé de mon SM-A600FN en utilisant Tapatalk

Excellent..................