French and Riviera News Monday 13th January 2020

Local

Police officer left in a critical condition in hospital - A police officer is in a critical condition in hospital in Marseille. The 25-year-old officer was stabbed at around 7.30pm on Saturday evening after intervening to break up a fight between a group of young people in the Chartreux district of the city. The officer was  not on duty at the time and was in civilian clothes.  Four people have been arrested as the investigation continues.

Christian Estrosi running for a third term - The current mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi is running for a third term. Estrosi chose to declare his candidacy on social networks with the publication of a clip, and with a letter which will be sent to the people of Nice today. The campaign slogan is “The essential is you”. As of today, the first highlight of his campaign with be the inauguration of the Parc du Ray alongside former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy.

Christian Estrosi will unveil his programme on January 19th at the Acropolis in Nice. He entered politics in 1983 as a municipal councilor for Jacques Médecin. For more than 40 years, he has never left the political scene.

The local elections will take place on March 15th and 22nd.

Train network and strikes - In a press release, the SNCF has announced an improvement in rail traffic in all regions compared to last week. While traffic will remain disrupted today, on a national average the SNCF will provide 7 out of 10 regional trains which represents 10% more than last week.

As unions call for the strike action to continue French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has offered a concession to unions in a bid to end the nationwide strikes against the proposed pension reforms.

In a letter, Mr Philippe said he was willing to withdraw a proposal which would raise the age at which workers can claim their pension from 62 to 64.

One of France's largest unions, the CFDT, welcomed the announcement saying it showed a willingness to compromise.

However, the CGT union called the proposal "a smokescreen".

Protesters again took to the streets of Paris and other cities on Saturday. In the capital, police fired tear gas at some groups of protesters who smashed windows and set light to rubbish bins and billboards.

Football - The football match between PSG and Monaco ended in a 3-3 draw. The first draw of the season for PSG and the first time in nearly ten years that Paris Saint Germain has conceded three goals at home in the league, the game was described as “crazy”

The two teams will meet on Wednesday at Louis-II here in Monaco.

National

Three people die while kayaking - Three people have died while kayaking off the northern French coast. A fourth person aged 15 was rescued, suffering from hypothermia, and taken to hospital.

The bodies of a man and a woman in their 50s were found on the beach at Crotoy after midnight while the body of another man was recovered later;

It said eight kayakers, set out Saturday afternoon but they split up into two groups, with four returning to base and the others continuing.

Controversial new tax - France will go ahead with its controversial new tax on the profits of large technology firms such as Google and Facebook despite US threats to retaliate, as the government vows that it is just the start of a crucial rethink of the regulation of tech monopolies.

Cédric O, the French junior minister for digital affairs, told reporters that Emmanuel Macron’s drive to make companies including Amazon and Apple pay more and fairer tax would go ahead, despite US warnings that it could open up a new front in the international trade war.

Ferrari collector son ordered to pay - A French appeals court has ordered the son of a renowned Ferrari collector to pay his siblings millions of euros over the disputed sale of a car. Patrick Bardinon was sued for breach of trust after auctioning off a 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO in 2014 for 38 million euros.

He says the car - considered as Ferrari's "Mona Lisa" - was a gift from his father Pierre Bardinon, following a racing accident. But Anne and Jean-Francois Bardinon claim their brother secretly removed the car from their father's collection and unlawfully sold the crown jewel of their shared inheritance.

Business

The US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that China’s commitments in the Phase 1 trade deal were not changed during the lengthy translation process and will be releases this week as the document is signed in Washington.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday ,Mnuchin said that the deal reached on the 13th of December still calls for China to buy between 40 and 50 billion dollars worth of US agricultural products annually and a total of 200 billion dollars of US goods over two years.

Earlier in the weekend ,rumours started that China had changed the text of the agreement during translation but Mr Mnuchin said that this was not the case.

The Phase 1 trade deal is set to be signed on Wednesday and should help to ease tensions between Washington and Beijing although tariffs will remain in place on some 370 billion dollars worth of annual  Chinese imports.

 

Suggestions that the Bank of England could cut interest rates at the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee have been raised after another policymaker said that he might be in favour.

Gertjan Vlieghe has told the Financial Times that he will consider voting for a rate cut depending on how the UK economy has performed since the December election.

Mr Vlieghe is the third Bank of England policymaker in recent days to say that they might be willing to cut rates when the MPC meets at the end of January.

Last Thursday ,the outgoing governor of the Bank ,Mark Carney said that it was prepared to take swift action if economic weakness persists.

 

And-One of the UK’s oldest department stores has warned that it could collapse into administration.

Beales ,which began trading in Bournemouth in 1881 says that 22 stores and 1,000 jobs could go if it can’t find a buyer.

The firm has been negotiating with landlords to try and agree rent reductions.

Talks are also ongoing with two potential buyers.

Beales suffered poorer than expected Christmas period sales which has brought the crisis to a head.

Last week ,the British Retail Consortium said that 2019 was the worst year on record for the High Street.

 

Sport

Football-There were 2 games in the English Premier League on Sunday.Manchester City moved back into second place in the table following a 6-1 away hammering of Aston Villa while Watford moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a 3-0 win at Bournemouth.

There was one game in the English Championship on Sunday.The south Wales derby ended Cardiff 0 Swansea 0.

In the FA Women’s Super League Arsenal were 4-0 winners at Brighton.

Chelsea thrashed Bristol City 6-1.Reading beat Birmingham 1-0 and Spurs beat West Ham 2-1.

Cricket-The England captain Joe Root missed training on Sunday ahead of the third Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth.

Root has picked up a stomach bug and stayed at the team hotel.

England have had 11 players out sick on the current tour while two have been ruled out through injury.

The third Test starts on Thursday with the scores tied at 1-1.

Rugby Union-There were 3 games in the European Champions Cup on Sunday.In Pool 1 Leinster crushed Lyon 42-14 and Northampton came from behind to beat Benetton 33-20 while in Pool 4 Racing 92 beat Munster 39-22.

Weather

Mainly fine with light easterly winds.

Top temperature 15 degrees.

Overnight lows of 8 degrees on the coast and 4 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.

Tuesday and Wednesday-Partially cloudy with a high of 14 degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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