Saudi king Salman leaves France after eight days of beach closure controversy

King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

The Saudi king’s visit to his family’s French Riviera mansion is over after eight days of controversy surrounding the public beach that was closed at his arrival.

Jean-Noel Falcou, a town councillor in Vallauris who had mounted a petition against the closure, confirmed in a blog post Monday that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had left for Morocco. The closing of the isolated beach drew protests, and beachgoers briefly won a halt to the preparations for his arrival, which included the installation of a temporary elevator to allow direct access from the mansion.

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“All that for just eight days of vacation for the Saudi king,” Falcou wrote.

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