French and Riviera News Monday 10th December 2018

Local

Yellow Vest movement - French President Emmanuel Macron is to meet trade unions and employers' organisations this morning, in a bid to defuse weeks of unrest in Paris and other cities across France. This morning’s meeting comes ahead of a TV address which will take place this evening at 8pm in which he is expected to announce measures in response to demands from the “Yellow Vests”. French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe vowed to "restore national unity" after violence broke out during a fourth consecutive weekend of protests.

Authorities said the riots in Paris had been less violent than a week ago, with fewer injured -- but the city hall said the physical damage was far worse as the protests were spread out across the capital. About 125,000 protesters took to the streets on Saturday, with more than 1,200 taken into custody. In Marseille, twelve people were placed in custody, 7 were slightly injured. 16 arrests were made in Avignon and 10 policemen were injured. In Nice a march was held on the Promenade des Anglais as the movement also continued to block motorway access at Frejus, Cannes and Antibes.

Former prime minister and mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé, denounced the violence in Bordeaux on Saturday evening in which 26 people were injured putting pressure on  Macron to address the French public ‘quickly’ and inviting him to “use language all French people can understand,”.

Weather warning - Firefighters made more than a hundred interventions in the Alpes-Maritimes following strong winds which hit the region on Sunday. Meteo France had placed the region on an orange weather alert with gale force winds forecast. Several flights in and out of Nice International airport were cancelled with one flight from Marrakech having to abort landing being diverted to Turin. The promenade in Menton was closed and five people who were visiting the Christmas market in Nice were taken to hospital suffering injuries after a metal structure fell to the ground. The market was immediately evacuated and closed.  

Meanwhile the strong winds which also hit Corsica led to 20,000 homes being left without electricity.

Robbery - Police in the Var have opened fire after robbers broke into a private home shortly after 5pm in Cavalaire sur mer on Sunday. The three men reportedly fled by car at which point the police opened fire leading to the criminals fleeing on foot.

National

Stabbing - Three women have been injured in a brutal stabbing attack at a train station in eastern France. The incident occurred in Mulhouse on Sunday at around 3pm - with one of the victims being knifed in the throat. According to French media the attacker started his rampage by stabbing a woman in the back as she was walking through the station with her 10-year-old daughter. He then reportedly attacked a second woman, who was hit in the hand. The man, said to be a 'young male', then fled the scene of the attack before being arrested by police. He was also said to have been known to police and was suffering from a 'mental disorder'. 

Climate change protests - Around 2,000 Green Vests have taken to the streets of Paris to protest climate change, as the UN climate conference continues in Poland. Numbers are well down from previous marches in September and October which gathered 130,000 people. The march went ahead despite security fears after clashes between police and yellow vest protestors in the Champs-Elysées area.

Outrage - Leftwing politicians have expressed outvideos, which have gone viral on social media, showing teenagers kneeling as riot police barked orders at them. The students were detained Thursday in the Paris suburb of Mantes-la-Jolie, in unrest that has spread to dozens of schools during three weeks of anti-government demonstrations. A total of 146 people were arrested outside the town's Saint-Exupery high school after protesters clashed with police and burned two cars.

Business

The French Finance Minister has said that the “gilets jaune” protests have been catastrophic for the economy.

Bruno Le Maire has called the situation a crisis after four consecutive weekends of demonstrations against fuel tax,the high cost of living and other issues.

Paris has been hardest hit with many shops boarded up or smashed and across the country retailers have lost around a billion euros in sales in the busy run-up to Christmas according to the French retail federation.

Meanwhile the head of the French Confederation of small and medium sized businesses has said that the protests could cost his members up to 10 billion euros in lost revenue.

There are also concerns that the country,especially Paris will lose out on tourism revenue with visitors staying away while the protests remain unresolved.

 

UK retailers had their worst November in a decade according to the analysis firm Springboard.

Footfall at retail parks,shopping centres and high streets was down by 3.2 percent last month compared with last year.

Research shows that the Black Friday effect is continuing to drive more shopping online  and for a longer period.

Springboard also said that it expected footfall to decline by 4.2 percent year-on-year in December,a larger decline than the 3.5 percent fall seen last year.

Research also showed that the UK’s political turmoil over Brexit was having an impact on shoppers’ purchasing decisions.

 

And-The US trade representative Robert Lighthizer has said that negotiations with China need to reach a successful conclusion by the first of March or new tariffs will be imposed.

Mr Litghthizer clarified that there will be a “hard deadline” on Sunday following a week of confusion about the timetable for the talks by President Trump and his advisors.

Global markets remain volatile because of the fear that the world’s two largest economies remain on a collision course.

The arrest of a top Chinese executive from Huawei in Canada last week  has also roiled markets with concerns that it will further enflame the trade row.

 

Sport

Football-There was one game in the English Premier League on Sunday.Newcastle suffered a last gasp 2-1 defeat against Wolves.

In Scotland on Sunday,Rangers missed out on returning to the top of the Premiership after being held to a 1-1 draw at Dundee.

There’s one game in the Premier League tonight.Everton play Watford.

Cricket-India have beaten Australia by 31 runs in the first Test in Adelaide.

The home side were bowled out for 307 in their second innings on the 5th and final day of the match.

The second Test starts in Perth on Friday.

Rugby Union-There were three games in the European Champions Cup on Sunday.

Munster beat Castres 30-5 in Pool  2 while Saracens saw off Cardiff Blues 51-25 in Pool 3 and Racing 92 beat Leicester Tigers 36-26 in Pool 3.

Boxing-The WBC has sanctioned a direct rematch between heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury after the pair shared a thrilling and controversial draw in Los Angeles.

Both fighters have said that they want a rematch with Fury calling for the fight to take place in the UK.

The WBC said that there had been “unanimous agreement” to sanction a rematch.

Wilder’s mandatory challenger is Dominic Breazeale but the WBC’s decision clears the way for him to face Fury again next.

Weather

Clear skies with a strong Mistral continuing across the Var with gusts of up to 60 km/h.

Top temperature 18 degrees Celsius.

Overnight lows of 9 degrees on the coast and 4 degrees inland with clear skies.

Tuesday and Wednesday-Fine tomorrow with a high of 15 degrees.Some showers around on Wednesday  with a high of 13.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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