Evening Update Monday 20 January 2020

Unsettled weather is expected tonight and tomorrow in the Var and the Alpes Maritimes, with Meteo France putting both departments on a Yellow weather alert. The warnings are for high waves and coastal flooding until at least 3pm tomorrow (Tuesday). The Var is also on a Yellow warning for high winds until at least 2pm tomorrow.

Eight activists have been taken into police custody in connection with the spraying of slogans on street furniture in Nice. According to local reports, they are members of the local branch of Greenpeace and the organization ANV Nice.

The body of a man has been discovered in Sanary in the Var this morning. According to local reports, the corpse was found by a dog walker in shallow water at the Corniche des Baux at about 9.00 this morning. The incident follows the death of a man off the coast of Roquebrune Cap Martin at the weekend. An investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances of the individual's death.

Teaching unions across France have called for a boycott as students sit their first baccalaureate exams today ahead of six weeks of exams. The new bac, the E3C, has been strongly criticized with some saying it has been “badly implemented leaving teachers and students unprepared and a general disorganization”. According to a teachers' union representative, staff in about 200 to 250 schools across France have declared that they may take some form of industrial action. According to the French Ministry of Education, as of this morning, nationally five schools had been blocked by protests and 24 were affected by other industrial action.

A 22 year old woman suffered a broken leg after falling 10 metres down a cliff at La Seyne yesterday. Her mother, who was nearby, raised the alarm and she was airlifted to the Sainte-Musse hospital in Toulon.

A man has died after being shot in Marseille at the weekend. The shooting happened in the 14th arrondissement and is believed by authorities to be a settling of accounts in the criminal world.

A couple had a lucky escape after their car fell into the old port of Marseille at the weekend. They  lost control of their vehicle on the Quai de Rive-Neuve on Saturday evening but managed to get out just before it hit the water. Their two dogs who were also in the car at the time also avoided injury. Pompier were later able to get the car out of the port.

Tributes have been paid to one of the major figures in the perfume industry who passed away at the weekend. Louis Peyron, who was 93 years old, was a professional chemist who made important contributions to advances in the perfume industry in and around Grasse over the past four decades.

 

BUSINESS

BBC director-general Tony Hall is to step down this summer. In an email to staff, Mr. Hall said he wanted one person to lead the broadcaster through a mid-term review process in 2022, as well as its current "Charter Period", which ends in 2027.

Drinks maker Fevertree has said that its full-year revenues are set to miss expectations after what it called "subdued Christmas trading". It said that revenues in the UK fell by about 1% from 2018 to 2019 but the company saw an increase of 9.7% in its revenues globally.

Property group Intu, which owns shopping centres such as Lakeside in Essex and the Trafford Centre in Manchester, has said that it's looking to raise extra money to bolster its finances. Intu said that the company "continues to make progress in its strategy to fix the balance sheet" which includes "targeting an equity raise" alongside its full year results at the end of February.

One of the UK's oldest department stores has gone into administration. Beales began trading in Bournemouth in 1881 and has 22 stores, mostly in the south of England.

 

SPORT

Tennis... Venus Williams is out of the Australian Open in Melbourne after being beaten by 15 year old Coco Gauff. Meanwhile Roger Federer reached the second round with a straight-sets win over Steve Johnson. The final score was 6-3  6-2  6-2. Tournament officials are describing the air quality as good now that heavy rain and storms have cleared smoke from bush fires that had been hanging over the city.

Rugby Union... England head coach Eddie Jones has named eight uncapped players in his Six Nations squad. Alex Moon, Fraser Dingwall and George Furbank receive their first senior call-ups along with Bath player Will Stuart and Wasps fly-half Jacob Umaga. Hooker Tom Dunn, flanker Ben Earl and wing Ollie Thorley are also named in the squad. England open their campaign against France on Sunday, 2 February.

 

 

 

 

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