Unions in France have called for a day of national strike action tomorrow. The move comes in protest against government reforms. Transport, schools and hospitals are all expected to be disrupted. Lines 1 and 2 of the Nice tramway are expected to be closed all day and bus services will be disrupted. The city of Nice has announced that free parking will be made available throughout the city.
Twenty two right wing activists have been placed under judicial control in Marseille following demonstrations at the headquarters of SOS Mediterranee last Friday. The activists had accused the organization, which operates the humanitarian rescue ship The Aquarius, of being “complicit in the trafficking of human beings”. Meanwhile, hundreds of people demonstrated in Paris and Marseille at the weekend backing The Aquarius. SOS Mediterranee is urging European governments to find a new flag for the ship after Panama's maritime authority removed its registration.
An environmental clean-up operation started this morning off the coast of Corsica following the collision of two ships yesterday morning. A Tunisian roll-on roll-off ship and a Cypriot container ship collided 28km north-west of Cap Corse, resulting in an oil slick reported to be about 4km long and a few hundred metres wide. The clean-up operation is expected to last several days.
Police are calling for witnesses after a woman from Cannes died after being struck by a bull during a local festival in Aigues-Mortes near Montpellier. The woman was watching a bull race with her husband on Saturday. As the bulls left the area after the race, one jumped over the fence separating them from the public. The bull caught the woman in its horns and threw her several metres into the air before she fell on her head. She later died in hospital.
BUSINESS
Heathrow Airport has been fined £120,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office for failing to ensure that the personal data held on its network was properly secured. Last October a member of the public found an unencrypted USB memory stick containing more than 1,000 files which had been lost by an airport employee.
Industrial output in Germany has fallen for the third month in a row. The German Economy Ministry said that output fell by 0.3% in August. Output fell by 1.3% in July.
Jaguar Land Rover is planning to close its factory at Solihull in the West Midlands for two weeks at the end of this month. The company has experienced falling diesel sales recently and has warned about weakening global demand, announcing job cuts and a three-day week at another facility. The company said that employees at the plant would be paid during the shutdown and no jobs would be lost.
The Italian government's borrowing costs have hit their highest level since 2014 after the European Union repeated its concerns over Italy's budget plans. Italy's stock market has also fallen sharply today.
SPORT
CRICKET.. At the close of play on Day 2 of the Test Match, Pakistan were 452 all out and Australia were on 30 for no loss after 13 innings. In other cricket news, three Hong Kong players have been charged by the International Cricket Council with breaching the Anti-Corruption Code. The charges relate to matches played between 2014 and 2016. Irfan Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed and Haseeb Amjad have 14 days to respond and have been provisionally suspended with immediate effect.
FOOTBALL.. Former England and Chelsea captain John Terry has announced his retirement from football. Terry earned 78 England caps and spent two decades at Chelsea where he made over 700 appearances for the club. In other football news, it’s been announced that Wales forward Gareth Bale and England striker Harry Kane are among the nominees for the 2018 Ballon d'Or. The the names of the 30 nominees are being released gradually by organizers over the coming weeks. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on 3rd December.
A new optional regional transport tax for businesses, introduced in France’s 2025 budget, aims to fund eco-friendly mobility projects. ...
Read More
A judge has authorised a dive to inspect the wreckage of a plane in the sea off Antibes. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean on September 11 1968...
Read More
In France, drinking water is heavily contaminated with "forever pollutants," particularly trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), as revealed by two studies from ...
Read More
The trial of the Tunisian man accused of the murder of three people in the Nice Basilica attack is continuing in Paris. Yesterday the families of the ...
Read More
Four cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region made Booking.com's 2025 list of the "most welcoming destinations in France." ...
Read More
