Two separatists were arrested on July 14th after stealing 38 French flags in the Savoie department to mark their condemnation of the French state and the National Bastille Day.

"/> Two separatists were arrested on July 14th after stealing 38 French flags in the Savoie department to mark their condemnation of the French state and the National Bastille Day.

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Savoy separatists steal 38 French flags

Two separatists were arrested on July 14th after stealing 38 French flags in the Savoie department to mark their condemnation of the French state and the National Bastille Day.

Published: 17 July 2012 12:14 CEST

Savoy separatists steal 38 French flags

Pierre73 (File) - The town hall in Chambéry.

Overnight on Saturday, while the rest of France was partying or admiring fireworks on Bastille Day, two Savoy separatists stole 38 French flags.

The flags were stolen from official buildings and towns in the Savoie department in the French Alps, French daily Le Progres reports.

The two 24-year-old men were arrested in the village of Etriemberes, near Annemasse. They told police officers they were conducting a “symbolic protest” against the French National Day on July 14th.

The men claim to belong to a splinter group of the pro-independence Savoyan League.

The historic region of Savoy was annexed by France in 1792 under the first French Republic.

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Dad's 'miracle escape' after being buried by avalanche in French Alps

Ski lifts in France are closed, but visitors and locals are free to enjoy other outdoor sports. Photo: AFP

The 50-year-old father was snowshoeing near the high-altitude Val d'Isere ski resort with his wife and two children on Thursday without anti-avalanche safety equipment.

“Thank to the mobilisation of nearly 100 people… the man was found alive after two hours and 40 minutes of searching,” the police for the local Savoie département announced on Twitter.

Because of the depth of the snow, rescue dogs were unable to detect a trace, but the man was eventually dug out by a specialised mountain police team which used a Wolfhound device to locate his mobile phone under the ice.

“I think it's a miracle,” Alexandre Grether from the PGHM rescue team told the France 3 local news channel, adding that the man was found 2.5 metres (eight feet) below the surface.

The chances of survival after more than 20 minutes in an avalanche are usually slim.

“He was protected by a tree, that's what prevented him from being crushed by all the ice that slid down. The snow had surrounded him, but he had a pocket of air,” he explained.

The victim is expected to make a full recovery after suffering a fracture to his hip.

The avalanche risk on Thursday was at its maximum – five on a scale of five – and rescuers urge people to always check the snow conditions before venturing out.

READ ALSO 'Whole season a write-off' – what next for France's ski resorts?

Ski lifts in the Alps, which have seen some of their heaviest snowfalls in years in January, are currently closed because of restrictions imposed by the government to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Visitors and locals are free to enjoy hiking, cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing, but occupancy levels in hotels and chalets are way down and business owners and seasonal staff face serious hardships.

The government has promised an economic support package for the sector.

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