Local
CrossMed rescue diver - A diver has been rescued by CrossMed in Porquerolles in the Var. The 54-year-old man got into difficulty 48 metres below the surface between Porquerolles and Port-Cros. The victim was airlifted to the Sainte-Anne military hospital in Toulon.
Car crashes into restaurant terrace - Two people have been injured after a vehicle crashed into the terrace of a bar restaurant in La Ciotat. The incident occurred at around 10pm on Tuesday. The driver a 16-year-old boy without a driving license was stopped by off-duty police officers from Marseille that were at the time having a drink on the terrace.
An investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances.
Mosquito control operation in Nice - A mosquito control operation has been carried out in areas of central Nice after a suspected case of Dengue fever. The Regional Health Agency ordered the operation to control tiger mosquitos, which are known to carry Dengue fever as well as other diseases such as Yellow fever. Areas around Avenue de Pessicart and Boulevard Mantega-Righi have been sprayed with insecticide to try to control the mosquitos.
Coronavirus - Two new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in Monaco on Wednesday. Since Saturday 17 people have tested positive with the number of residents affected by the coronavirus to date standing at 142.
Four people are hospitalised including two in intensive care and 43 people are being cared for by the Home Monitoring Centre.
Nice tourist office closes after case of Covid-19 - The Nice tourist office on the Promenade des Anglais has been closed after a member of staff tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. Staff members have been asked to self-isolate while awaiting test results and the premises will be disinfected. The tourism hotline remains open and the 24/7 touchscreen terminals are available along with the website nicetourisme.com.
La Petite Maison closes due to Covid- 19 - Meanwhile the restaurant La Petite Maison in Nice has closed its doors after an employee tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. All staff have been tested and contact cases notified. The restaurant will remain closed while management await test results.
Single-use masks an environmental disaster - An environmental protection federation in France has warned that French people are in their panic over the coronavirus forgetting about the environmental damage caused by single-use masks.
Now mandatory in many major cities in France including Marseille and Nice and more recently Lyon. 5% of French people admit that they have already thrown away or lost a mask on public roads
Complaint filed against Pr. Didier Raoult - A complaint has been filed by infectious disease specialists against Professor Didier Raoult for his promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against Covid-19.
The director of the University hospital of Marseille is accused of having promoted hydroxychloroquine, a drug whose effectiveness is not proven to fight against the coronavirus. In recent months, several scientific studies have even pointed out its ineffectiveness, or even the dangers of the drug against Covid-19.
The party is over - Two private properties in Cannes have been fined 2,500 euros by the city. Since the beginning of the summer the two adjoining villas have been the scene of celebrations which partygoers paid for day and night. The fines were issued following authorities evacuating the premises in the summer.
National
Recovery plan - French Prime Minister, Jean Castex, is to unveil the governments measures to restart the French economy today. Ahead of today’s announcement in an interview with Le Figaro, Castex unveiled on Wednesday that the recovery plan of 100 billion euros will be in three parts.
Firstly 30 billion euros will be invested in “green technologies”, 35 billion euros will be devoted to “making France more competitive and sovereign and finally 35 billion euros will be devoted "to social and territorial cohesion". This includes approximately 6 billion euros for the hospitals.
Jean Castex also guarantees that no tax increase is on the agenda, saying that "this is the mistake that was made in the last crisis in 2008 and it will not be repeated”. The Prime Minister concluded that “the recovery plan would only be fully effective if everyone plays the game”.
Record number of migrants cross Channel in a single day - A record has been reached in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in a single day. On Wednesday 409 people including young children on board 27 boats were intercepted by the border force.
A further 53 people were rescued by French authorities after getting into difficulties before reaching British waters.
Fake notary service scam on the rise - An existing scam involving fake notary services is reportedly on the rise this year in France. The fraudsters take note of any death notices and then contact family members posing as a Notaire claiming that money has been left to them and asking for large sums of money in order to “unblock” the funds they are “entitled to”.
Authorities have warned that anything of this kind is a scam and there is no need for large sums to be paid to ‘unblock’ payments.
Citroen Ami - French car maker Citroen has received rave reviews after launching its “Citroen Ami” in Paris in March. The 5,000 euro cubed shaped electric car targets Parisian teenagers offering over-14s a ‘safe’ alternative to public transport during the coronavirus pandemic.
The vehicle is being sold online at French retailers and can be driven by children as young as 14 who have passed a moped test.
Business
United Airlines says that its preparing to furlough more than 16 thousand workers when US Federal government aid expires on the 1st of October.
The cuts are to include some 7 thousand flight attendants with unions saying that more than 14,000 will not receive pay in October unless Congress acts to extend 25 billion dollars in aid to the airline industry.
Many staff have opted for periods of leave that include healthcare but not pay with airline industry chiefs warning that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to decimate the industry unless there is more government aid.
Airlines have been lobbying Washington for a second stimulus package that would protect jobs until next March.
The first 25 billion dollars of aid expires at the end of this month but talks have stalled on a new deal as Congress struggles to reach agreement on a broader coronavirus assistance package.
Shares in the electric carmaker Tesla have fallen by 15 percent ,adding to losses sustained on Tuesday after the firm announced a 5 billion dollar stock offering aimed at cashing in on increased interest from Wall Street.
Tesla acted following a near 6 fold increase in its share value so far this year and decided on a 5-for-1 stock split which came into effect on Monday.
Analysts say that some investors have decided to take profits instead .
One of the firm’s major investors ,Baillie Gifford and Co cut its stake to 4.25 percent from 7.67 percent according to regulatory filings.
Tesla shares recovered somewhat in afternoon trade but ended the day down 6.8 percent at 442 dollars 80 cents.
And-Rolls Royce has said that demand for luxury cars is rebounding despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The firm’s chief executive Torsten Muller- Otvos says that markets in Asia ,Europe and the United States are now “more or less back to normal”.
The news comes as Rolls Royce launched its new Ghost model which is expected to retail at around 250,000 pounds.
The firm said that sales for the first half of the year were down by 30 percent but that things are getting “better and better”.
The new Ghost is a complete redesign of the firm’s most successful vehicle ever which Mr Muller-Otyos described as a “seminal moment”.
Sport
Cycling-Adam Yates of Great Britain is the new holder of the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France after previous leader Julien Alaphilippe was handed a 20 second time penalty on stage 5 of the race.
The Frenchman was penalised after TV images showed him being given a water bottle with 17.8 kilometers of the stage remaining.Under UCI rules ,riders are not allowed to take on food or drink in the final 20 kilometers of a stage.
Stage 5 was mainly uneventful and was won in a sprint finish by Wout van Aert of Belgium.
Yates has a 3 second advantage over Primoz Roglic at the top of the general classification heading into stage 6 today which is 191 kilometers between Le Teil and Mont Aigoual.
The stage ends with a brutal climb with the chance that a bad day for one of the leaders could scupper their overall chance in the Tour.
Tennis-Top seed Novak Djokovic is through to the third round of the US Open after beating Kyle Edmund of Great Britain in 4 sets.
There were also 2nd round wins for Alexander Zverev and David Goffin while Cameron Norrie of Great Britain is also through to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
In the women’s event ,the top seed Karolina Pliskova has been knocked out by Caroline Garcia of France who came through 6-1 7-6.
There were no problems however for the 4th seed Naomi Osaka ,6th seed Petra Kvitova or the 13th seed Alison Riske who are all through to the next round.
Football-The Wales star Gareth Bale has said that he would be “open” to a move back to the English Premier League but that current club Real Madrid are making it “difficult” for him to leave.
The 31 year old has been frustrated by a lack of action at the Spanish Giants and almost moved to China last year before Real blocked the move.
Bale said that he still had a lot to give ,feels very fit and just “wants to play”.
Several clubs have expressed an interest but so far Real Madrid have rebuffed all comers.
Cricket-The former England all-rounder David Capel has died at the age of 57 after a long illness.
Capel won 15 caps and played in 23 one day internationals between 1987 and 1990.
He’d been suffering with a brain tumour.
Rugby Union-Up to 20,000 fans could be allowed to attend the England v Barbarians game at Twickenham on the 25th of October.
Less than a quarter of the stadium’s capacity would be reached under the proposal from the English RFU which still needs to obtain clearance including the relevant license and approvals.
A number of safety measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus inside the stadium are being put together including digital ticketing and the wearing of face masks except for in assigned seats or when eating or drinking.
Weather
Mainly fine with light south easterly winds.
Top temperature 26 degrees.
Overnight lows of 19 degrees on the coast and 16 degrees inland with clear skies.
Friday and the start of the weekend-Clear skies with highs of 26-28 degrees.
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