Evening Update Friday 29 April

Rumours Eric Zemmour would present himself as a candidate in the Cannes area for next month’s legislative elections have proved unfounded. In the first round of the presidential election, Zemmour had recorded a score of 17% in the city. However, the party announced that their candidate will be local municipal councillor Adrien Grosjean, while in Menton it will be Damien Rieu a co-founder of the Islamophobic movement Génération Identitaire which was dissolved last year.

The port of Camille Rayon at Vallauris is clearing up after a boat was totally destroyed by fire last night. The fire, on a 20m speed boat, took two hours to extinguish around midnight last night. No one was injured.

Nearby, police are investigating a fire in Antibes where one person died and two others were injured. The fire, in the third-floor apartment of a seven-storey building on Boulevard Wilson, broke out yesterday afternoon. 12 people were evacuated and the apartment was completely destroyed by the flames.

Prince Albert is to co-sponsor the Blue Climate Summit in French Polynesia. The event is aimed at accelerating ocean-related solutions to climate change. More than 200 scientists, policymakers and environmental activists will work on ocean and climate strategies during the week which begins on May 14th.  

The Grand Prix season has kicked off in Monaco with the next generation of Formula E race cars being unveiled at Monaco Yacht Club. Designed specifically for street racing, the new model pushes the boundaries of what is possible for electric cars, including a top speed of over 200 mph.
Tomorrow, the Principality plays host to the fifth edition of the Monaco ePrix, where 3km of fast straights, ultra-tight bends and tricky chicanes guarantee an electrifying ride. The competition takes place over a single day, with training laps at 8am, qualifiers at midday and the grand race itself at 3.30.

Primary, middle and high school students at the Stan-islas Institute in Fréjus have raised €45,000 to help victims of the war in Ukraine. The money, raised from a several kilometres long solidarity race, has been donated to the Croix Rouge

French authorities are investigating up to sixty incidents across the country, where people in nightclubs were pricked by needles containing unknown substances leading to nausea and dizziness. Regions affected include Paris, Rennes, the Haute-Garonne, Dordogne and others. However, it's not believed any incidences have been reported from the PACA region yet.

And finally, calls have been made to abolish fines for micro-speeding in France. This is where motorists receive a fine for exceeding the limit by just 4 or 5k/hr. The micro-speeding fines account for almost 60% of all fines issued.

BUSINESS

Eurozone inflation has hit a record high for the sixth consecutive month, reaching 7.5% in April. Last month the rate was 7.4%. The ECB said the 19 member block is close to reaching peak inflation with price pressures expected to diminish in the second half of the year. However, energy costs are expected to keep inflation relatively high.

Elon Musk has sold 4.4 million Tesla shares to help fund his purchase of Twitter. The billionaire tweeted later that he had no plans to sell anymore. Shares in both Twitter and Tesla continue to fall today.

In Frankfurt, police are conducting a search at Deutsche Bank after Germany's largest lender reported suspicious transactions in relation to money laundering. The bank said it is cooperating fully with the police and the financial regulator BaFin.

Amazon shares are down almost 10% after reporting its first quarterly loss since 2015 yesterday. While costs are up and sales are down in the retail business, revenues and margins remain strong with Amazon's AWS web and Prime online media services. Apple also reported yesterday with on-target earnings but warned sales could be hit by lockdowns in China.

SPORT

Rugby - The Monegasque Rugby Federation and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation have announced this year’s Sainte Dévote Rugby Tournament. It will take place at Stade Louis II on May 7th , with the first game at 8.45, culminating in the final at 4.15. This year will mark the 10th year of the competition.

The finale of the Women's Six Nations takes place tomorrow near Biarritz between England and France.  While both countries have been a distance ahead of their Six Nations rivals, England has streaked ahead of France with 42 tries to 20 in the tournament so far. However, for tomorrow's final, Les Bleues have a considerable home ground advantage in front of a sell-out crowd in Bayonne. Kick-off at 3.15 tomorrow.

Football - AS Monaco and OGC Nice continue their quest for European qualification by securing a top-four place in the league. At the moment Monaco is fourth but Nice is snapping just behind in fifth place.  That could change this weekend as Monaco takes on Anger at home and Nice plays away at Bordeaux. Both games take place Sunday afternoon.

In the UK Liverpool continue to chase their historic quadruple, with another key match in their campaign to top the Premiere League this weekend. They’re currently in second place, just one point behind champions Manchester City and only six games to play. Tomorrow Liverpool are away to Newcastle while Manchester City is hosted by Leeds.

Golf - It was announced today that the men’s and women’s Australian Open will be held together on the same courses and for equal prize money. The tournaments are both slated for early December in Melbourne with a total prize fund of A$3.4 million.

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