French and Riviera News Friday 11th September 2020

Local

Missing person – A 13-year-old girl has been reported missing in Vidauban in the Var. Police have called for any witnesses following the worrying disappearance of Paloma Gomez who was last seen on Tuesday 8th September at a leisure park in Vidauban.

Described as being of medium height with long brown hair Paloma was last seen wearing jeans a beige sweater and black trainers.  

Anyone who may have any information is invited to contact police in Draguignan on 04.94.39.44.06.

Mask compulsory outdoors in 18 doors of the Alpes Maritimes - Wearing a mask has become compulsory outdoors in 18 towns in the Alpes Maritimes and since Thursday Cannes, Antibes and Menton were added to the list which already includes amongst others, Nice, Mougins, Cagnes sur mer, Saint Laurent du Var and Valbonne.

The measure taken to curb Covid-19 contamination makes wearing a mask outdoors compulsory from 8am to 1am however, it does not apply to those under 11s or to people with disabilities justified with a medical certificate.

Other towns such as Biot, Colomars, Eze, La Gaude and Saint Jeannet have made in compulsory only in certain areas.  

Last orders - Meanwhile the Alpes Maritimes Prefecture has announced earlier closing times for bars and restaurants to limit the spread of the coronavirus. As of Thursday evening, through until the 15th October, restaurants and bars in towns with over 2,000 inhabitants will have to close at 1am those with less than 2,000 inhabitants the closing time will be 11pm.

The Prefecture added that police and gendarmes will maintain their checks to ensure that the measures are respected.

Monaco Covid-19 – Four new cases of Covid-19 have been declared in the Principality on Thursday bringing the total number of residents affected to 165.

AS Monaco - Meanwhile AS Monaco have said that three players at its academy have tested positive for Covid-19. The players have been isolated, and the club said that their state of health isn't causing concern.

Nice Opera House closes - The Nice opera house has closed at the last minute, as a precaution due to the current health crisis. Management has assured that daily tests for Covid-19 have been carried out revealing a few positive cases, but no cluster has been declared.

The decision to close was made at 6pm on Thursday ahead of the season’s opening night in order to respect health measures in the fight against Covid-19.

The Crossing - This weekend will see the Monaco Water BIke Challenge take place. Organised by the Princess Charlene Foundation of Monaco  the relay race entitled The Crossing: Calvi - Monaco Water Bike Challenge takes place tomorrow Saturday 12th September and Sunday 13th. 
The purpose of this new sporting challenge is to sail from Calvi to Monaco in a minimum time on water bikes.

Beyond the sports performance, this event aims to raise awareness about drowning prevention and water safety. The primary objective of Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, established on 14th December 2012, is to save lives by fighting against drowning.

Its missions include increasing public awareness of water-related hazards, educating children with respect to preventative measures and teaching them how to swim. The World Health Organization estimates that 320,000 people die from drowning worldwide every year.

National

Defence Council – The government’s Defense Council is meeting this morning in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron to decide on new measures in the face of fight against Covid-19.

The latest weekly report from Public Health France, made public on Thursday evening, has shown a gradual resurgence of the epidemic in France with seven departments now exceeding a weekly incidence rate of 100 infections per 100,000 inhabitants: Bouches-du-Rhône (196), Gironde (159), Paris (150), Alpes-Maritimes (134), Rhône (133 ), Val-de-Marne (125) and Hauts-de-Seine (119).

Nearly 10,000 cases (9,843) of Covid-19 have been recorded in the last 24 hours in France, according to data made public on Thursday evening. This is a record level since the start of the epidemic and the launch of large-scale tests in the country.

French President Emmanuel Macron has promised new decisions to be announced following today’s meeting, which plan to "give visibility over the coming weeks", but "without giving in to any panic ".

Business

The head of the mining giant Rio Tinto is to step down following criticism of the firm’s destruction of sacred Aboriginal sites.

In May ,workers from Rio Tinto blew up two ancient caves in Western Australia. The firm went ahead with the operation at the Juukan Gorge Rock Shelters despite the opposition of Aboriginal traditional owners.

The move has sparked widespread protests from Rio Tinto shareholders as well as the public.

Jean Sebastien Jacques will remain as chief executive until March  or until a successor is appointed.

Other senior executives are also to leave the company including the heads of its Iron Ore and Corporate Relations Division.

The caves which are one of Australia’s most significant archeological research sites  have shown evidence of continuous human inhabitation dating back 46,000 years.

They sit above some 8 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore with an estimated value of 96 million US dollars.

The Australian parliament is currently conducting an enquiry into Rio Tinto’s actions.

Jane Fraser has been named as the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank.

The 53 year old is to take over as chief executive of Citigroup after being promoted from her position as head of consumer banking.

She’s been a rising star in the industry with a career spanning investment banking ,wealth management  and Latin American strategy and will take over in February from Michael Corbat.

Ms Fraser’s promotion is being celebrated as a step in the right direction for an industry that has few women in its top ranks.

She’s spoken publicly about the troubles that she faced while trying to climb the corporate ladder  as a working mother.

And-Sales at the exercise bike workout firm Peloton have surged thanks to soaring demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm’s global membership base hit 3.1 million at the end of June as gym closures due to Covid-19 increased demand for workouts at home.

The increase in subscriptions lifted revenue to 607 million dollars -up 172 percent year on year.

The growth saw Peloton register its first quarterly profit of 89 million dollars with the firm saying that it expects subscriber numbers to further increase over the coming months.

Sport

Cycling-Marc Hirschi of Switzerland has won his first ever Tour de France stage with victory in the 218 kilometer ride from Chauvigny to Sarran.

The 22 year old went clear with 28 kilometers of stage 12 to pull off a superb breakaway win.

Primo Roglic of Slovenia retains the Yellow Jersey on an overall quiet day in the general classification. He’s still 21 seconds ahead of Egon Bernal and 28 seconds clear of Guillaume Martin.

Today’s 13th stage is 191.5 kilometers between Chatel-Guyon and Puy Mary and features a number of climbs which look set to sap the legs.

 

Tennis-Serena Williams is out of the US Open after being beaten in the semi-final by Victoria Azarenka.

Williams ,who was seeking a record equalling 24th Grand Slam took the first set 6-1 before Azarenka made a stunning comeback to win the next two sets and the match 1-6 6-3 6-3. She’ll play Naomi Osaka in the final. She beat Jennifer Brady in three sets.

The men’s semi finals between Alexander Zverev and Pablo Carreno Busta and Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev are being played tonight.

 

Football-The English Premier League starts behind closed doors tomorrow.

On Saturday Fulham play Arsenal.Crystal Palace play Southampton.Liverpool play Leeds and West Ham play Newcastle.

On Sunday West Brom host Leicester and Spurs play Everton.

Sheffield United play Wolves and Brighton host Chelsea on Monday.

 

Formula 1-First practice for Sunday’s Tuscan Grand Prix in Italy is at 11am this morning with Lewis Hamilton looking to get back to winning ways following last week’s mix up in the pits which saw him finish 7th.

Second practice is at 3pm with qualifying at 3pm tomorrow and the race at 3.10pm on Sunday.

Ferrari will be racing in a one-off special livery this weekend to mark the team’s 1,000th Formula 1 World Championship race.

The cars will be decked out in dark red in a reproduction of the first Ferrari Formula 1 car from 1950.

 

Cricket-The first one day international between England and Australia is being played at Old Trafford today.

England captain Eoin Morgan is fit after recovering from a finger injury while Jason Roy is available again after recovering from a side strain.

Play starts at 2pm French time.

Weather

Sunshine and thundery showers with light variable winds.

Top temperature 25-27 degrees.

Overnight lows of 22 degrees on the coast and 19 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.

The weekend-Mainly fine with highs of 28-30 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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