Evening Update 27 Nov

An out-of-control car which overturned near the MAMAC museum in Nice has led to the death of a female pedestrian in her nineties. The accident happened at lunchtime today when the vehicle rolled over the lady who was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver is being treated for shock at Nice Pasteur Hospital.

Meanwhile, rising waters after torrential rain the morning, have led authorities in Nice to close the tunnel running alongside the Paillon River from La Trinité into Nice. The opposite tunnel leaving Nice is open as normal, however traffic in the area is extremely heavy and to be avoided.

The CIV in Valbonne was closed today as emergency services investigated a gas leak in the area. Adjoining buildings were evacuated for a time as a 300 metre exclusion zone was set up.

The Riviera is bracing for a national strike beginning next Thursday December 5th. The strike is expected to affect trains, schools, postal services and flights. It’s also thought ‘yellow vest’ protesters will join the action with demonstrations at motorway toll stations. Workers are protesting pension reform among other issues. President Macron has said the government will remain strong in the face of any unrest.

There was traffic chaos in Paris today as up to a thousand farmers blocked roads to protest poor conditions in the farming community. They are calling on the government to change practices by large supermarkets which are putting them on the poverty line. They cite examples of Lidl selling steak hacheé for 6.75 a kilo or Carrefour selling organic milk for 87 cent. They say economic conditions are so bad that one farmer kills themselves each day in France.

Finally, in the UK the deaths have been announced of two television personalities.  Satirist and television presenter Clive James has passed away at the age of 80 after a ten year battle with lukemia. It’s also reported celebrity chef Gary Rhodes died after suddenly falling ill while filming a new series he was working on in Dubai. He was 59.

BUSINESS

Monaco has announced it will use Amazon Web Services to install a hybrid cloud in the Principality. The cloud will make it possible to accelerate public initiatives such as e-government, mobility, education and healthcare.

Twitter is to begin deleting accounts that have not been used for more than six months. They say this is because users who do not log-in are unable to agree to its updated privacy policies. Users have until December 11th to log-in or lose their accounts.

The French parliament has passed an amendment to ban publicity campaigns for Black Friday. The amendment to France's ‘anti-waste law’ condemns over-consumption saying it is a vast glory operation of consumerism imported from the United States.

SPORT

Football - Spain's returning manager Luis Enrique says Robert Moreno, who has been filling his role for the past few months, was ‘disloyal’ and will not be part of his future coaching team.

Enrique resigned last June to spend more time with his nine-year-old daughter as she was dying from bone cancer. Enrique said his temporary replacement came to see him saying he wanted to lead the team at Euro 2020 and afterwards would be happy to stand back down to assistant coach again. Enrique says he understands Moreno worked hard to be the coach, and that he is ambitious, but for him the request as disloyal and Moreno would be dismissed.

Temporary substitutions for footballers suspected of being concussed are likely to become compulsory for next summer's Euro 2020. Rugby already uses a system whereby team doctors make an initial assessment of a player on the pitch, and then withdraw them for further assessment. While the injured player is off the pitch, rugby teams are allowed to make a temporary substitution, which can then be reversed if the player is deemed fit to return.

Rugby - Australia’s Israel Folau has upped his demands for compensation from Rugby Australia to $14m following his high-profile sacking. The former Wallabies star is suing after being fired in May for making anti-gay remarks on social media.

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