Some slink away into the shadows; others make a sheepish return home. When one young man decided to desert the French military this summer, however, he did so in style — on a succession of stolen luxury yachts.
Using the sailing skills he had picked up in his native French Polynesia, the 21-year-old celebrated his freedom by embarking on a glamorous tour of the Mediterranean. The former member of the 11th Maritime Artillery Regiment, who has not been named, had come to mainland France to serve in the army. He ran away from his base in Brittany after a dispute over his contract in June.
After an journey that took him through much of France, including Agen — where he was briefly arrested — and Biarritz, where two hotels said he left without paying the bill, he arrived on the Cote d’Azur in the middle of August last year.
“The sun and sea must have reminded him of Polynesia,” said Joel Gilson, of the Toulon maritime police. “He told us he just wanted to have fun, to set sail on some big yachts.”
The first vessel that caught his eye was the Ocean Alexander 83, worth 24 million euros (US$34.1 million), which the thief took from the port of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Antibes, on Oct. 15.
As soon as its owners realized it had gone, they called the local police, who issued an Interpol alert to all countries bordering the Mediterranean and all port authorities on the French coast.
By this time the rogue skipper was navigating his getaway toward Italy. Two days later, faced with a spent fuel tank, he was forced to stop at a port near San Remo, where the Italian coastguards spotted him and alerted the police.
However, while they were waiting for a European arrest warrant, the fugitive stole a dinghy and made off into the night. He only took the dinghy, Gilson said, because his attempt to steal another yacht had failed.
Next the fugitive returned to France and made off in another luxury boat, the Claro 7, worth about 3 million euros, from Cannes. Stepping up their attempts to catch him, police used a Lynx helicopter from the French military to track him down. He was finally arrested on Thursday in the port of Cavalaire near Saint Tropez.
“To begin with we thought he might be part of an international ring of professionals,” Gilson said. “But when we arrested him it was clear he was not a serious criminal, just a young guy.”
Police on the Cote d’Azur have warned owners of the risk of not installing alarms or tracking devices on their yachts.
“Very few people do it; some even leave their keys in there when they go,” Gilson said. “In these circumstances, there is nothing easier than stealing a yacht.”
The thief, who is being held in the south of France, now faces the prospect of time in prison.
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