French and Riviera News Friday 27th December 2019

Local

Strike – Trains in the region continue to be affected by the ongoing strike action with 2 out of 3 TGV’s operating and 7 out of 10 regional trains running. The SNCF recommends passengers to postpone any travel plans adding that those with a ticket can make, before their departure, an exchange or refund without an additional charge.

French businesses suffering from the strike action – Meanwhile the French government has encouraged businesses affected by three weeks of strikes against the pension reform to apply for a deferral in paying their social charges. In mid-December, the government reactivated a procedure put in place for businesses affected by Yellow Vest protesters. On 11th December the government decided to renew measures which were put in place for businesses affected by the Yellow Vest protests, which involve tax payment deferrals and the ability to temporarily lay off staff.

Body found in park in Mougins - The body of a 37-year-old woman has been found in a park in Mougins. A passerby discovered the partially burnt body on Christmas morning. Police are investigating the death and an autopsy is to be carried out on Monday.

Gastroenteritis - The regions health service has confirmed that an outbreak of gastroenteritis which affected 20 children at a primary school in Nice on the 19th December was not caused by food or water served on the premises. Test carried out found that the incident was caused by an outbreak of “viral gastroenteritis”.

Cigarettes - French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe has announced the introduction of an on the spot fine of 135 euros for anyone purchasing cigarettes sold on the street. The new measure aims to crack down on the illegal tobacco trade. In southern France the increase in the price of a packet of cigarettes has not deterred smokers as figures show a 32% increase in consumption.

Leaflets advertising drugs for sale - Nice city council has filed a complaint after motorists in the city reportedly found leaflets on their windscreens advertising drugs for sale. The leaflets had been left of cars in the Acropolis car park by dealers located in the east of the city offering MDMA and cocaine to customers.

French President spends Christmas in the Var - French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have spent Christmas at the Fort de Brégançon in the Var. The presidential couple arrived on Tuesday and were spotted strolling by the sea in Ramatuelle on Christmas day. They are expected to stay in the region until the beginning of next

Business

Asian shares have jumped to an 18 month high this morning while gold and oil prices remained buoyant on the last day of the holiday shortened trading week.

Investor optimism has been boosted by hopes that a trade deal between Washington and Beijing will be signed soon.

Markets rallied after China said that it was in “close contact” with the United States about an initial trade agreement.

On Thursday ,President Trump mentioned a possible signing ceremony with China “ in the near future”.

Gold and oil have both held on to recent gains with Brent Crude trading at 68 dollars 09 cents and gold at  1,509 dollars 29.

Both oil and gold have been on the rise in recent weeks as a hedge against dollar weakness and increased equity market volatility.

 

Retail analysts in the UK have blamed Black Friday discounts and bad weather for a decline in Boxing Day shoppers.

Springboard ,which analyses customer activity in stores said that footfall up until midday on Thursday had seen the largest decline since 2010-down by 10.6 percent.

It said that Boxing Day was becoming less important as a trading day.

Some 3.7 billion pounds is thought to have been spent during sales yesterday according to Barclaycard with 4 in 10 adults predicted to spend an average of 186 pounds each.

 

And-The electric carmaker Tesla has entered into agreements with lenders in China for a secured term loan facility of up to 1.29 billion dollars.

A regulatory filing made on Thursday shows that Tesla has also signed agreements for an unsecured revolving loan facility with all the funds being used for its Shanghai car plant.

The new factory is the centrepiece of Tesla’s ambitions to boost sales in the world’s largest car market and avoid higher import tariffs on US made vehicles.

Sport

Cricket-It was honours just about even on day 1 of the first Test between South Africa and England at Centurion.

England won the toss and decided to field and James Anderson took a wicket with the first ball of the day.

After that it was ebb and flow with Quintin de Koch top scoring for the Proteas with 95 and Sam Curran taking 4-57 with the ball.

At stumps South Africa were on 277-9.

Australia are in charge on day 2 of the second Test against New Zealand in Melbourne.

The home side were bowled out for 467 in their first innings with Travis Head top scoring on 114.

 

Football-There was a full programme in the English Premier League on Boxing Day with the leaders Liverpool extending their lead to 13 points at the top of the table following a 4-0 win at second placed Leicester.

In the other results Spurs beat Brighton 2-1.Aston Villa beat Norwich 1-0.Bournemouth and Arsenal drew 1-1.Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Southampton.Crystal Palace beat West Ham 2-1.Everton beat Burnley 1-0..Sheffield United and Watford drew 1-1 and Manchester United beat Newcastle 4-1.

In the English Championship on Boxing Day Barnsley and West Brom drew 1-1.Blackburn and Birmingham drew 1-1.Brentford beat Swansea 3-1.Cardiff and Millwall drew 1-1.Charlton beat Bristol City 3-2.Hull lost 2-0 at home to Nottingham Forest.Luton and Fulham drew 3-3.Middlesbrough were 1-0 winners over Huddersfield.Stoke beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2.Wigan and Derby drew 1-11.Leeds and Preston drew 1-1 and Reading beat QPR 1-0.

West Brom are top of the table 3 points clear of Leeds.

In the Scottish Premier League the Edinburgh derby ended Hearts 0 Hibs 2 and in the other results Aberdeen beat Livingston 2-1.Hamilton lost 1-0 at home to St Johnstone.Rangers beat Kilmarnock 1-0.Mothewell were 2-1 winners at Ross County and the leaders Celtic were 2-1 winners at St Mirren.

The busy festive programme continues over the weekend.

Manchester City can move into second place in the Premier League if they beat Wolves tonight.

On Saturday Brighton play Bournemouth.Newcastle play Everton.Southampton face Crystal Palace.Watford play Aston Villa.Norwich face Spurs.West Ham play Leicester and Burnley play Manchester United.

On Sunday Arsenal play Chelsea.Liverpool face Wolves and Manchester City play Sheffield United.

Rugby Union-There were 2 games in the Guinness Pro 14 on Boxing Day.Cardiff Blues beat Dragons 16-12 and Scarlets thumped Ospreys 44-0.

Racing-Clan des Obeaux has won a second successive King George VI Chase at Kempton.

The Paul Nicholls trained horse with Sam Twiston Davis on board came to the front with two fences to jump and went well clear to win by 21 lengths.

The 5-4 favourite Cyrname finished a distant second with the Irish challenger Footpad in third.

Clan des Obeaux is partly owned by the former Manchester United football manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the win gives trainer Paul Nicholls a record-extending 11th victory in the King George.

Weather.

Partially cloudy with light to moderate variable or westerly winds.

Top temperature 15 degrees.

Overnight lows of 8 degrees on the coast and 5 degrees inland with clear skies.

The weekend-Mainly fine with highs of 14-16 degrees.

 

Finally 

The hunt is still on for the winner of a Euromillions jackpot of almost £41million as the deadline to claim the prize approaches.

National Lottery players in Dorset are being urged to double-check their favourite numbers ahead of the 30-day deadline next week for reporting a lost, destroyed or stolen ticket for the big prize.

The £40,957,696.60 win was the seventh EuroMillions jackpot to be won in the UK this year. The ticket-holder matched all five main numbers and the two Lucky Star numbers in the EuroMillions draw on December 3. The winning numbers were 18, 31, 32, 38 and 48, with Lucky Stars 04 and 12.

National Lottery operator Camelot has disclosed that the winning ticket was bought in Dorset but will not reveal any further information in case the winner wishes to remain anonymous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last local news

French and Riviera News Friday 29th March 2024

Poland has announced that its armed forces will "join the international coalition” to help secure the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris. ... French and Riviera News Friday 29th March 2024 Read More

29/03/2024

Evening Update Thursday 28th March 2024

Seven people have been questioned by police in a fraud investigation relating to the loss of almost half a million euros by Nice university hospital.... Evening Update Thursday 28th March 2024 Read More

28/03/2024

French and Riviera News Thursday 28th March 2024

France's prime minister Gabriel Attal has announced that a teenage girl who falsely accused her headteacher of striking her in a heated exchange over... French and Riviera News Thursday 28th March 2024 Read More

28/03/2024

Evening Update Wednesday 27th March 2024

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has asked for national police reinforcements to help bring the Les Moulins housing estate under control.... Evening Update Wednesday 27th March 2024 Read More

27/03/2024

French and Riviera News Wednesday 27th March 2024

The headmaster of a high school in Paris has resigned after receiving death threats on social media following an altercation with a student, which dat... French and Riviera News Wednesday 27th March 2024 Read More

27/03/2024