In the space of just under a week, between March 5 and March 12, Monaco’s firefighters were called to Beausoleil six times to put out trash fires in the neighbouring municipality.

The first flaming incident occurred on March 5 at 19:00, this was followed two days later by a blaze at 05:45 in the morning. This time, the fire was more serious, as it had spread to five scooters and to the Les Caroubiers building.

On March 10, Monegasque firefighters were called to fires at Place d’Alba and Rue des Martyrs at 19:00 and 20:00 respectively. However, this was not the end of it, as the busy firefighters were also called to avenues Professor Langevin and Maréchal-Foch on March 11 and 12. All of these fires were set alight before and after curfew hours.

Local residents believe that the fires is a response from disgruntled individuals who have had their drugs and money seized. On March 1 and 2, the municipal police got hold of approximately 85 grams of cannabis resin in the Les Caroubiers building, and discovered 2,885 euros in an abandoned scooter at the scene of an accident.

March has been a particularly crime-filled month for Beausoleil. The first fire occurred at the same time that the police station was broken into on March 5, and fires continued to spread in what police believe to be a game of cat and mouse. However, there is currently no concrete evidence to link the events.

So far, only one individual has been arrested. A 17-year old Monegasque was detained for one of the fires of March 10. The juvenile was released.