French seaside town says Non! to the 'Ryanair riff-raff'

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

So its fashionable residents certainly don't want planeloads of visitors arriving from Essex on low-cost flights.

A No Budget Flights association is campaigning to prevent Ryanair, which charges as little as £10 for a flight to France, operating flights from Stansted.

Christiane Célice, who runs the association, said: "It's not snobbery but it is not the clientele we want. Deauville doesn't want that sort of crowd.

"We are particularly against people who wear T-shirts and bring their own sandwiches to eat outside the casino."

Deauville is in Normandy, the only region without a low-cost air link to Britain, even though thousands of Britons live there.

Numerous other French towns have struck deals with budget airlines and in most cases this has been followed by an influx of Britons in search of holiday homes.

The resulting property boom has prompted complaints about 'Anglo-Saxon culture' - in the shape of pubs, TV satellite dishes, football hooligans and even fish and chip shops - replacing the traditional French way of life.

Young French people have also been squeezed off the property ladder.

Deauville residents fear the three flights a week planned to start from Stansted in March will be the last straw.

They hope to block the operation with a lawsuit against Ryanair's French partners, the regional government and Deauville town hall.

Deauville has already agreed to foot the advertising bill for the Ryanair route - an estimated £114,000 a year.

"Why should our taxes be used to boost Ryanair and pay for something that will massacre our countryside and cheapen our image?" said Mrs Célice.

Deauville's mayor Philippe Augier said, however: "We're expecting 40,000 passengers a year and it will greatly benefit our economy.

"It will bring more British people who will go shopping, eat in restaurants, stay in hotels and play golf."

A spokesman for Ryanair said: "In other parts of France we have found residents are quite keen to see us come in. House prices have shot up with the arrival of Ryanair."