About 150 people have been evacuated in the Morbihan department in Brittany because of a forest fire. The prefect said this afternoon that 250 to 260 hectares had been consumed and the fire was two-thirds contained. He said that as at 4:30 this afternoon, 422 firefighters and 124 machines were engaged in fighting the fire. National and international resources are being used including two Air Tractor planes from Sweden, a water bomber helicopter and a Dash.
Meanwhile, the Prefect of the Gironde has said this evening that the large fire which has resumed this week in the department has not progressed for two days.
Nineteen French departments in the west of France are still on Meteo France orange alerts for heat. Meanwhile, the two departments in Corsica are on orange alerts for thunderstorms.
The Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur Regional Health Agency has said that three cases of Monkeypox were reported on Wednesday in a family staying at a campsite in the Var. The agency didn't name the campsite. It said it was an intra-family contamination prior to the family's arrival at the site. They were isolated and left the scene and their health isn't a cause for concern. According to investigations carried out by agency, the family had no close and prolonged contact during their stay of a few days at the campsite with other holidaymakers or with the campsite staff and the situation doesn't justify the isolation or vaccination of staff and residents of the campsite.
Three busses have been destroyed by fire at a depot in Carros this morning. A plume of black smoke was visible over a wide area. Reports say that the vehicles ran on liquified natural gas.
Authorities have removed the encampment on the sea wall on the port of Nice today. Mayor Christian Estrosi said that "it was our duty to act to put an end to this occupation of the public domain, where these people were in danger".
A teenage swimmer has been rescued off the coast of Marseille. The 15 year old's parents raised the alarm at 5.50 yesterday evening. CROSSMed co-ordinated a search involving helicopters, boats and a diving team. Shortly after 9 p.m. the swimmer was spotted 300 meters off the coast. He was in a state of advanced hypothermia and had swallowed a lot of sea water, but after a medical check it was not deemed necessary to take him to a medical facility.
A person was hit by a train near La Pomme station in Marseille late this afternoon. Rescuers were on the scene and traffic was interrupted between Marseille and Toulon but is now gradually returning to normal.
Customs officers in Marseille have seized 528 kg of cocaine with an estimated value of 37 million euros. In a Twitter post, Public Accounts Minister Gabriel Attal congratulated the customs services in Marseille and said that in the middle of summer, French customs remain mobilized throughout the territory "to protect our fellow citizens from criminal networks".
The Prefect of the Var has said that controls on so-called "urban rodeos" are being reinforced in the department. Offenders are liable to fines, imprisonment and confiscation of equipment. A few days ago the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin announced a clampdown on urban rodeos and said that he wanted 10,000 controls to be made nationally.
BUSINESS
Annual consumer price inflation in France was 6.1% in July, according to final figures released by government statistics agency INSEE. The price of energy rose by 28.5%, down from 33.1% in June.
The UK economy contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter of the year. The Office for National Statistics said that this was partly due to Covid related schemes ending, retail sales falling and the Platinum Jubilee bank holidays. The slight fall in GDP contrasts with growth of 0.8% in the first three months of this year.
The Spanish government has said that a new gas pipeline from Spain to the rest of Europe via France could be operational in about eight or nine months. Spain has facilities to convert liquified natural gas transported by ships into the gaseous form used by households and industry.
SPORT
Rugby League... Organisers of the World Cup, which is taking place in England later this year, have said that they are expecting record breaking ticket sales. A quarter of a million tickets have already been sold and organisers say they are expecting half a million to be sold by the time the tournament gets underway in October.
Cricket... Yorkshire player Adam Lyth has been suspended from bowling by the ECB. After the side's recent match against Lancashire, it was found that his bowling action exceeded the 15 degree threshold as defined in the regulations. He is now unable to bowl until he has passed an independent re-assessment of his bowling action.
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
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Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
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Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
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French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
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France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
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