In late August 1990, an unemployed French nuclear physicist named André Gardes, who believed he was the rightful holder of the Seigneur's title, attempted an invasion of Sark armed with a semi-automatic weapon. The night Gardes arrived, he put up two posters declaring his intention to take over the island the following day at noon. The following day he started a solo foot patrol in front of the manor, in battle-dress, weapon in hand. While Gardes was sitting on a bench waiting for noon to arrive, the island's volunteer connétable approached the Frenchman and complimented him on the quality of his weapon.[24] Gardes changed the gun's magazine to illustrate how it worked, allowing the constable to tackle and arrest him. He was given a seven-day sentence, which he served in Guernsey.[24][25][26][27] Gardes attempted this again the following year, but was recognized in Guernsey, arrested, and handed over to the French government.

[–] RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de 19 points 5 months ago

[–] zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev 6 points 5 months ago

It's like when Sealand had its rebellion

[–] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

500 people on an island that is barely over 2 square miles, that has its own independent government... This sounds like the greatest reality show ever made lol

[–] thefactthat@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

This is a great article on the insanity of Sark's governmental system. It goes into the attempts of the Barclay brothers (UK media barons) to gain control of the island in the 2000s and their eventual failure:

The quirkiest of the British Isles is a self-governing jurisdiction between Guernsey and France just over three miles long and less than two miles wide. Sark has its own parliament, its own taxes and its own traffic laws (permitting only tractors, bikes and horse-drawn vehicles). Its central, fertile plateau is protected by cliffs on almost all sides that rise to over three hundred feet. There are no natural harbours. In 1862, the lords of the Admiralty of the world’s greatest naval power came to inspect its defences but sailed away, finding nowhere suitable to disembark. Whenever strong easterlies made it impossible to land at Creux beach, travellers had to anchor at Havre Gosselin instead, which meant mounting a precarious fifty-step ladder straight up the rocks: a proper jetty was built only in 1912. Walkers could access one of the best beaches, at Port es Saies, by means of a rope hanging over the cliff.

[–] holycrap@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

What's the advantage of this over vans?

[–] 0110010001100010@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's the only thing allowed, lol. According to the wiki article OP linked all other motor vehicles (other than tractors) are banned. You would think there would be an exception for emergency services...

[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

I guess it's better than horse-drawn ambulance. Bumpiness is not good for the injured.

[–] toddestan@lemm.ee 4 points 5 months ago

You don't have to worry about the alternator going out.

[–] whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 months ago (2 children)

why the front seats ?

[–] brianorca@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I'd guess it's easier for the paramedics to jump out when they first arrive on scene. Nothing happening in the back yet, so they can look around and see the situation while rolling in.

[–] whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 months ago

oh, yeah and there's probably not a lot of seats on the tractor

[–] UndulyUnruly@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

How else would you make the most of your Beef-a-Reeno subscription?

[–] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 1 points 5 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

Beef-a-Reeno subscription

Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.

[–] JoShmoe@ani.social 3 points 5 months ago

I hope its at least got AC.