National and municipal police, Urssaf, hygiene service... Major operation to check snack bars and motorists in Cagnes-sur-Mer

The operation was prepared in the utmost secrecy at the Cagnes-sur-Mer police station. 11:15 a.m., Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Commissioner Sébastien Laroze briefs all the teams mobilized for the occasion: national police, municipal police, Urssaf, public finances, and the city's hygiene service.

Objective: to check businesses "that could pose a problem" on Rue Pasqualini and those on the adjoining section of Boulevard Maréchal-Juin. 11:45 a.m. Cars with flashing lights roll into the neighborhood. Twenty or so officers from various departments are deployed to the scene. Seven establishments are targeted, including five snack bars and two barbershops.

"Don't you have a cash register?"

Among them, a snack bar. The owner of the premises is not present. It is his employee who faces the avalanche of questions from the government services. "Don't you have a cash register?" asks the chief public finance controller. "Yes ," replies the employee. "But it's broken." Dubious, the agent will ask the boss to provide a certificate of conformity for the cash register software within a month or face a fine of 7,500 euros. In the kitchen, the Cagnes-sur-Mer municipal health and hygiene service is busy. Approved thermometer in hand, manager Christophe Pistre "checks compliance with the hot and cold chain, the best-before date of the food." "Here, there are a lot of frozen foods. The products are defrosted daily. We don't encounter the same problems as in kitchens where there are prepared meals," explains the head of the hygiene service. Meanwhile, the URSSAF (French Social Security) tax collection and fraud inspector is busy checking hiring declarations and personnel records. At the same time, other teams are working on the various targeted businesses. "Because in Cagnes ," the mayor reminds us, like a gimmick, " we are looking after the health of consumers."

At the same time, a roadside check is being conducted by law enforcement. "This follows various complaints from local residents. During the summer, double parking and nighttime gatherings are more common in front of these businesses," said Commissioner Sébastien Laroze. A drug dog is being deployed for the occasion.

Operation results: 40 vehicles checked. "Two arrests were made: one for an illegal immigrant, the other for carrying weapons and driving without a license. In addition, ten fines were issued," said the commissioner of Cagnes-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-du-Var.

"Formal notice for lack of hygiene"

Regarding the operation targeting businesses, "a snack bar was formally notified for lack of hygiene and risks being closed administratively. Several kilos of food were thrown in the trash ," reports Commissioner Laroze. Another was reminded of hygiene rules, particularly regarding food preservation. Finally, three establishments were fined for breaches of regulatory posting (secularism, sale of alcohol to minors, license)."