May the force be with you… but don’t touch
Mayor fears opening of new Star Wars film will lead to more thefts of town sign
IT MAY all have happened “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” but the opening of Star Wars – The Last Jedi in France has brought some “here today, gone tomorrow” problems.
Because fans seeking “the force” are ending up in La Force in Aude and, not content with having a photo taken beside the sign, they are taking off with the sign itself.
Fed up La Force mayor Richard Robert says three signs have been stolen in the past two years… and replacements cost €290 each time.
However, if the thieves are coming from the dark side then a news team from France 3 may have found out why... La Force has its own dark side, in the Carrière Obscure quarry.
The commune between Castelnaudary and Carcassonne is not alone: there are two other places called La Force in France, one in Dordogne and one in Saint-Priest-des-Champs in Puy-de-Dôme. But thieves are lucky that they will not end up in another of its namesakes… the Prison de la Force in Paris which became notorious for bloody massacres of the Revolution. Only a part of the wall now remains in the Marais.
However, Star Wars – The Last Jedi has been greeted by fans and Disney, owners of the franchise, has welcomed their delight with the launch of spin-off products ranging from Christian Louboutin shoes to ‘Porg’ chops.
Critics have been mixed in their ratings, although generally good, but the launch of the film in French was able to calm some minds. The title Star Wars – Les Derniers Jedis made it clear that the ‘last Jedi’ in the title was plural and that the ‘force’ had not dwindled to just one person.
Get a taste for yourself in this preview from Disney and Lucasfilms...
