Illusion

Antibes is a charming city in the French Riviera with its clean tiny streets, artisan crafts, the best gelato I have ever tasted in this region, decent pubs and bars and a fair amount of expatriates from the UK. I like this city. Or I used too. The other day, my girlfriends - E, S and I decided to spend the afternoon there.

After having lunch at this ever so disappointing Indian Restaurant called Achiana, we walked in the streets and stumbled upon a delightful little street where there were some healthy looking flowers hanging off a balcony. We thought that would make a nice background for our photographs. E was snapping S and I with her camera then mine when out of nowhere, a bucket of water splashed on E! We heard laughs from one of the flats above right after the incident but did not see a face. How outrageous! E got soaked and instinctively became furious! My Panasonic Lumix got wet too and is no longer in proper working condition which made me momentarily frenzied and now infuriated.

Naturally we marched straight to the local Police station (which resembled a deserted place with no one at the counter to greet us) to complain in hopes that an investigation will be carried out at that instant. The assigned Policeman only attended to us once he was done "chit chatting" with another colleague, walked as if he was the king of the jungle and all should bow down to him, looked at me from top to bottom as if to insinuate that I was a prostitute, sat down like he had just consumed a tonne worth of food and waited for us to say something! How harassed and judged I felt at that point! To no avail, nothing came out of it giving reasons that perhaps X might have been watering her plants - that flat had neither a balcony nor plants and of course he had already learned that fact from us earlier or maybe she accidentally spilled her drink! And what, no apology? As unlucky as we were that day, that Policeman treated the case as light as feather.
We left, feeling utterly dumbfounded and speechless.

I wonder how this country's police force could entrust an incompetent fellow colleague to sign an official document which states that he, Guy LUCAS certifies that he promises to make the grade to the duties of providing public security?

I cannot even distinguish which situation is worse - two crazy women splashing water on another human being with no reason, no apology and finding it amusing or a policeman who was just too lazy to assume his role to ensure national security.

This goes beyond my comprehension.