Lunchtime News Thursday 7th January 2021

News 

Man dies in fire - A man in his sixties has died in an apartment fire in Manosque. Firefighters intervened in the middle of the night to extinguish a fire which broke out on the first floor of a building. Seven people had to be evacuated. But the occupant of the first-floor apartment was found dead.

Cannes Film Festival - The 2021 Cannes Film Festival could be held in the middle of summer. The festival is normally scheduled from May 11th to 22nd, and for the moment is due to take place according to organisers. However, all will depend on the health situation at the time. The 2020 edition was postponed, canceled and then carried out as a "mini-festival" due to Covid-19.

Historical site allocated 300,000 euros - The bastion of the citadel of Villefranche-sur-Mer in the Alpes-Maritimes has been allocated 300,000 euros from the “Loto du patrimoine 2020” in aid for renovation work.  The monument is one of 18 classified as a "priority" and had been presented at the end of June by the Heritage Foundation. The monument is part of the famous citadel of Villefranche-sur-Mer facing the harbour and dates from the 16th century. During the conflicts between France and Savoy, between the 17th and the 18th century, the site was used to defend the area. In 1706, it was spared from destruction by an order of Louis XIV. Between the end of the 17th century and 1870, the structure did not undergo any major transformation. The citadel, which became French, was listed in 1861. Today the amount of allocations dedicated to each renovation project has been revealed with 300,000 euros allocated to the historical site of the Alpes-Maritimes. The total amount of the restoration work is estimated at 1.1 million euros.

National 

Paris attacks - Six years after the Paris attacks, the French  capital will commemorate the January 2015 attacks today, Thursday January 7th paying tribute to the victims. Almost three weeks after the end of the trial, Paris commemorates this week the attacks that occurred between January 7th and 9th, 2015. The tributes began this morning in front of the commemorative plaques unveiled in 2016, in the presence of the mayor of Paris, and the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, as well as survivors and relatives of the victims.

Elected official calls for vaccination of “politicians to show safety of vaccine” - The president of the île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, has called for the French Prime Minister to "get vaccinated in front of the cameras saying, that it is his duty to do so"

Speaking to French media this morning the elected official said that "Politicians must be vaccinated to show the safety of the vaccine, to restore confidence and they must be vaccinated publicly”. To encourage the French to be vaccinated against Covid-19, doctors have been vaccinated in public in recent days and artists are also committing to the vaccination in an appeal to the public.

Wine thieves - Wine thieves who were making off with an estimated 350,000 euros of Burgundy wines began throwing the bottles at police as they chased them down the motorway at high speed. The thieves finally abandoned their vehicle after smashing into a road toll barrier 35km north of the city of Lyon.

The thieves had targeted the luxury Relais Château hotel 30km from Beaune, in Burgundy, in the early hours of Tuesday. They smashed open the door of the wine cellar before making off with hundreds of bottles of Burgundy wine. Investigators say nobody was hurt and the bottles, aimed at the windscreen of the gendarmes’ car, missed their target. An inquiry has now been opened and police say they are searching for at least three men.