There’s been severe traffic disruption on the A8 motorway near the Italian border this afternoon. A vehicle caught fire in the Grimaldi tunnel in Italy and the A8 had to be closed in the direction of Italy with traffic being taken off the autoroute at Junction 59, Menton. The road surface was damaged by the fire and required urgent repair. The motorway was fully reopened just before 5.00 this evening but traffic remains very heavy in the area.
A young woman has died after a crash on the RN7 at Brignoles this morning. The 18 year old’s car apparently collided with a truck at about 9.30 but an investigation is underway to determine the full circumstances of the accident.
An Italian tourist in his eighties has drowned in Golfe-Juan this morning. The man was in cardiac arrest when rescuers arrived and he couldn’t be resuscitated.
A 30 year old motorcyclist has been seriously injured after being hit by a car near Cannes. The driver of the car was apprehended by police nearby. The car involved had reportedly been stolen. The victim was taken to the Pasteur Hospital in Nice.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen over much of Nice this lunchtime because of a vehicle fire. The car caught fire at about 12.30 on avenue Raoul-Dufy in the west of Nice.
Firefighters attended to a man suffering from a stab wound this afternoon on a road off the Boulevard René-Cassin in Nice. The man was taken to the Pasteur 2 Hospital but his injuries are not thought to be serious. According to local reports, the incident may have been the result of a marital dispute.
A 24 year old man has been rescued by helicopter this afternoon after suffering a fall on rocks near Tourrettes-sur-Loup. Eight firefighters on the ground were also involved in the rescue, which was in a difficult to access area near the Loup river.
Pompiers attended a fire in an apartment block on avenue Picaud in Cannes this afternoon. Thirty firemen were involved in fighting the blaze on the top floor of the block. No injuries were reported.
Paris is suffering large-scale disruption today as transport workers strike against planned pension reforms. Ten of Paris's sixteen metro lines were closed and service on the others was disrupted. Large traffic jams were also reported. It’s the first big protest against President Macron's plan for a universal pension which would replace dozens of different pension schemes for different professions. Several other professions have called for strike action for Monday.
BUSINESS
British Airways has started emailing passengers to cancel flights two weeks ahead of another strike by pilots. The industrial action on 27 September is expected to affect hundreds of flights and tens of thousands of passengers. The dispute is over a pay-rise which pilots say is not sufficient.
The company which owns the London Stock Exchange has written to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, saying it rejects the takeover proposal made for the LSE by the Hong Kong company. It says the proposal was unanimously rejected by its board of directors. In response, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has said that it’s "disappointed that LSEG has declined to properly engage" with its bid for the London exchange.
The Dutch central bank has criticised yesterday’s decision by the European Central Bank to cut interest rates and restart a bond-buying programme. Klaas Knot, president of the Dutch central bank said that the package "is disproportionate to the present economic conditions, and there are sound reasons to doubt its effectiveness".
SPORT
Cricket… It’s the second day of the fifth test. Early this evening Australia were 160 for 5 in reply to England's 294 all out.
Football... Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte will be out until January or February according to manager Pep Guardiola. The France centre-back has had surgery on his right knee after being carried off in the match against Brighton on 31 August.
The English Premier League is back in action this weekend following the international break. On Saturday Liverpool play Newcastle. Brighton host Burnley. Manchester United play Leicester. Sheffield United face Southampton. Spurs play Crystal Palace. Wolves play Chelsea and Norwich host Manchester City. On Sunday Bournemouth play Everton and Watford play Arsenal. Aston Villa play West Ham on Monday.
In the FA women’s Super League on Sunday Everton play Bristol City. Reading play Manchester City. Brighton play Chelsea. Spurs play Liverpool and West Ham play Birmingham.
Rugby Union...New Zealand player Luke Jacobson has been ruled out of the World Cup because of concussion. Jacobson played against Tonga last week and travelled with the squad for the tournament in Japan, but the All Blacks said the 22-year-old had suffered a "delayed onset of concussion".
Basketball...Spain have beat Australia in double overtime to go through to the Basketball World Cup final in China. The final score was 95-88.
Speed restrictions are in place on all major roads in the Alpes-Maritimes today because of a smog alert....
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A Marseille magistrate has been sentenced on the 17th of June in Nîmes for repeatedly avoiding motorway tolls using fake license plates. ...
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A major police stop-and-search operation along France's borders is being carried out today, involving 4,000 police officers, gendarmes and customs off...
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SFR has announced automatic compensation of 100GB of free mobile data for affected customers following a major network outage on the 16th of June....
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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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