Day 3309 (Tuesday) 30th June 2026

This is Menton again, it has to be the most photographed town on the coast

and this is Winston Churchill in Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat.

Huw found this article online this morning - who would have thought such things go on in Monaco? 

Amputated legs, burns, shrapnel wounds… We know more about the condition of the victims of the criminally motivated explosion in Monaco

An explosive device detonated on Monday, June 29, 2026, on the steps of a building on Rue Révérend-Père-Louis-Frolla in Monaco. Several people were injured, including a woman who was fighting for her life that night.

Legs torn off by the bomb

According to our information, one of the victims has been identified as Vadim Ermolaev, a Ukrainian oligarch with a dubious reputation who has been living in the Principality for ten years.

Suffering from burns and hit by shrapnel from the bomb placed in front of his home, the man was photographed conscious on a stretcher during his evacuation to a hospital in Nice.

The situation was much more critical for a woman who was with him and had not been identified as of Monday evening.

The woman suffered partial amputations of her lower limbs in the explosion. According to our information, she was rushed to a hospital in Nice and underwent an amputation.

A third person, an unidentified young man as of Monday evening, was also urgently transported to a hospital in Nice.

Thrown by the force of the explosion, he suffered burns and bruises and apparently had a bolt from the explosive device lodged in his leg .

Collateral damage

Two other people were reportedly taken into care by emergency services in a state of shock .

The first is a woman seen in photos and videos assisting victims dressed as a domestic worker, including wearing an apron.

The second would be the building's caretaker who was confronted with the horrific sight of the woman being hit in the legs.

The latter was moved to the entrance of the building to receive first aid from the emergency services.

It was another very hot day but there was a nice wind blowing making it more comfortable so we went into Nice for our weekly kebab. We managed to find a bench in the shade and thoroughly enjoyed our kebabs.

French Vocabulary: 10 Common Idioms with “Loup” (Wolf)

French idioms are full of colour, imagination, and cultural meaning. One animal that appears frequently in French expressions is the loup—the wolf. Wolves in French culture often symbolise hunger, danger, or cleverness, and these idioms give fascinating insight into the French way of thinking.

1. Avoir une faim de loup

Definition: to be very hungry
Translation: to have the munchies, to be hungry as hell
Example: Mon ventre a fait un gros bruit creux, j’avais les crocs.
When your stomach is growling and nothing else will do, the French say you have “a wolf’s hunger.”

2. Avoir vu le loup

Definition: no longer a virgin (for a woman)
Translation: to have lost one’s virginity
Example: À 25 ans passés, je pense qu’elle a déjà vu le loup.
A somewhat old-fashioned idiom, but still recognisable in literary French.

3. À la queue leu-leu

Definition: moving in a single file (from “leu,” an old word for wolf)
Translation: in single file
Example: On attendait notre tour à la queue leu leu, comme des centaines de personnes.
Perfect to describe orderly lines or queues, whether at a bakery or a train station.

4. Connu comme le loup blanc

Definition: known by everyone
Translation: a famous person that most people know of
Example: Dans cette entreprise, Matthieu est connu comme le loup blanc.
A fun way to say someone is well-known or instantly recognisable.

5. Crier au loup

Definition: to raise a false alarm
Translation: to keep asking for help unnecessarily, so people may ignore you when it really matters
Example: Doit-on crier au loup en observant l’arrivée de la technologie de l’intelligence artificielle ?
The classic “boy who cried wolf” lesson exists in French too.

6. Faire entrer le loup dans la bergerie

Definition: introducing a disruptive or undesirable element into a group
Translation: a disturbance caused by an unwelcome person
Example: Les villes de droite ne souhaitaient pas faire entrer le loup dans la bergerie en élisant un candidat de gauche.
A political or social idiom warning against letting trouble into a safe space.

7. Il y a un loup

Definition: there’s a hidden problem
Translation: something is wrong, an unseen problem exists
Example: J’ai recompté 4 fois et je n’arrive pas à avoir le bon résultat, il y a un loup quelque part.
Use this when something doesn’t seem right—your instincts are telling you there’s “a wolf.”

8. Marcher à pas de loup

Definition: to walk quietly
Translation: to move stealthily, without making a sound
Example: Quand je rentrais chez moi après une soirée, je marchais à pas de loup pour ne pas réveiller mes parents.
Literally walking like a wolf—silent and careful.

9. Quand on parle du loup (on en voit la queue)

Definition: said when someone mentioned in conversation appears unexpectedly
Translation: a reference to someone who shows up while being talked about
Example: – Je suis assis de côté de Martin à l’université… – Tiens, le voilà! Quand on parle du loup…
The French equivalent of “speak of the devil.”

10. Se jeter dans la gueule du loup

Definition: to deliberately put oneself in a dangerous situation
Translation: to throw oneself into the wolf’s mouth, figuratively
Example: Le parti a proposé une alliance avec les écologistes, mais pour eux, pas question de se jeter dans la gueule du loup.
A dramatic way to warn someone about taking unnecessary risks.