Evening Update 15 April

The Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has said he hopes President Macron will listen to yellow vest protesters by massively reducing taxes and quickly. He was speaking on television this morning ahead of Macron’s address to the nation at eight tonight. It’s expected the President will set out the first concrete measures to be taken in response to grievances gathered online and aired at over 10,000 town hall meetings since January.

The official poster for this year’s Cannes Film Festival has been revealed and will feature a tribute to the legendary French film director Agnès Varda who died last month aged 90. During a glittering career, Varda entered 13 films at Cannes, was a member of the jury in 2005, and received the Palme d’Or in 2015.

A large grey dolphin measuring two metres has been spotted in the water at Villefranche-sur-mer. The animal was spotted by divers who filmed the creature for two hours. They reported him to be friendly and playful.

Changes to parking in Nice from today, will allow motorists to park in designated delivery areas between midday and 4pm. The new measure is to allow better access to local businesses.

BUSINESS

The former chief executive of the carmaker Volkswagen has been charged in Germany over his involvement in the company's diesel emissions scandal. The public prosecutor has charged Martin Winterkorn and four other managers with fraud. VW said it would not comment on the indictments. Mr Winterkorn is already facing criminal charges in the US, but is unlikely to face trial, as Germany does not extradite its citizens.

Goldman Sachs has posted first-quarter profits that beat analysts’ expectations. The bank generated $2.25 billion of profit in the period, or $5.71 a share, compared with the $4.89 estimate. Meanwhile Citigroup have reported mixed first-quarter results, saying its earnings were boosted by share buybacks while revenues fell amid a sharp decline in equities trading.

SPORT

Football - AS Monaco’s Stevan Jovetic will be out of action for the rest of the season after injuring a ligament during a nil all draw with Reims. Although the goal-less game may be disappointing, it does mean the principality club has not lost a match since manager Jardim returned to take over the reigns from the embattled Thierry Henry. The draw also keeps Monaco seven points clear of the relegation zone with several matches to go.

Rugby - Harlequins lock forward James Horwill, the former Australia captain, is to retire from rugby union at the end of the season. Horwill, who will turn 34 in the final week of the campaign, was contracted for a further season but has opted to quit the game sooner saying he felt he could no longer give what is needed to play at that elite level.

TENNIS MASTERS

After some minor qualification matches over the weekend, the competition got underway for real this morning, with the first match being won by Russia’s Med.vedev in an easy straight sets victory over Sousa of Portugal. France’s Jeremy Chardy is the first high profile player to go, after being eliminated by Mikhail Kukushkin.  Belgium’s David Goffin is also comfortably through after a straight sets win over Argentina’s Guido Andreozzie on Court des Princes.

The next big match we’re watching on the main Court Rainier III with Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) taking on Kyle Edmund (UK).

Tomorrow, the big guns will all be playing including Novak Djokovic, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka. We’ll keep you posted with live results every afternoon on the half hour here on Riviera Radio.