The Alpes Maritimes Prefect has said that demonstrations against alleged police violence won't be allowed this weekend because of coronavirus restrictions. Bernard Gonzalez emphasised that public gatherings are still limited to a maximum of ten people. Two demonstrations had been planned for Nice this weekend. He said that police would be deployed to specifically prohibit such gatherings. In Paris, the prefecture has also banned two rallies which were scheduled to take place outside the US embassy tomorrow.
Terminal 1 at Nice Cote d'Azur airport won't fully reopen until March next year, according to the president of the Nice Côte d'Azur Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Jean-Pierre Savarino was speaking in a television interview last night. Terminal 2 remains open but M. Savarino said that the airport is currently only operating at two per cent of its normal capacity.
Beaches in Antibes will be open to swimmers again from 6am tomorrow, Saturday. Beaches in the area had been temporarily closed for swimming following the bad weather yesterday.
The Monaco Town Hall has announced the reopening of several facilities as part of the gradual lifting of containment measures.The Princesse Antoinette Park will be open from next Wednesday, June 10. The Stade Nautique Rainier III on the port of Monaco will be open from Monday, June 15 as will the Hercule Fitness Club and the Mediatheque at all its sites. However, the Jardin Exotique will remain closed until January 2021 to allow major works on the rocks and repairing the walkways. Several other venues will also remain closed until September this year. You can find more details at www.mairie.mc
The Stade Nautique in Antibes has announced that it will be reopening its doors tomorrow, Saturday 6th June. The swimming complex was awaiting the green light from the Prefect of the Alpes Maritimes which was finally given. The pools will be open to the public tomorrow from 10am to 6pm. The capacity of the pools will be in accordance with the health guidelines which have been put in place by the regional health agency.
A 3 year old child has drowned in Vidauban in the Var. Reports say that the girl was found in a swimming pool at a private residence. An investigation has been started.
The Monaco government has announced major works on the avenue des Spélugues. The works will increase the capacity of surface water drainage. At the same time the public lighting network, which dates back to the 1950's, will be replaced with modern LED technology. The impact on traffic will be minimized and the two traffic lanes and the pedestrian paths will be maintained. The works begin in the next few days and are expected to last until the end of the year.
Over 1,000 French residents are being repatriated from Tunisia on board a car ferry which is arriving in Marseille today. The same ship was used to repatriate residents from Algeria earlier this week. According to the French ambassodor, there are still several hundred French residents in Tunisia awaiting repatriation.
Armed robbers have stolen 600,000 euros worth of jewellery in Marseille this morning. They attacked a vehicle in the parking lot of a shopping area in the 11th arrondissement.
BUSINESS
Unemployment in the United States showed an unexpected improvement in the month of May according to new figures released today. The unemployment rate fell to 13.3% from 14.7% in April. Employers added 2.5 million jobs as restrictions on economic activity began to be loosened.
Carmaker Bentley has announced a reduction in its workforce through a voluntary redundancy scheme. The company said it is aiming to reduce its number of employyes by 1,000 people out of its current 4,200. The company also announced today that all its models would be available with a hybrid powere option by 2023.
Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus, has said that the company is considering a legal challenge to the UK's 14 day quarantine legislation. Speaking to Sky News, he said that the quarantine plans had "torpedoed" the opportunity to resume flights in July and described it as an "irrational and disproportionate" measure.
Consumer confidence in the UK has continued to fall according to a new survey. GFK's consumer confidence index fell to minus 36 in the second half of May, which is the lowest since July 2008 when it reached minus 39.
The BBC has appointed a new Director General. Tim Davie will be taking over from current Director General Tony Hall. He is currently the head of BBC studios, a role which includes generating revenue from BBC progamming internationally. He has been with the BBC since 2005 and reportedly turned down the role of Chief Executive of the Pemier League last year.
SPORT
Football... Many of the remaining Premier League fixtures for this season have been announced. The league will resume on 17 June and the fixture list for the first 32 matches out of a total of 92 reamining this season has been released. The first match will be Aston Villa against Sheffield United on 17 June, with Manchester City against Arsenal later the same evening. The FA Cup quarter-finals have also been confirmed to take place in the last weekend of June, with further details expected to be released shortly.
Two Benfica players have been taken to hospital after their team bus was attacked. The bus was travelling on a road between the stadium and the team's training ground following their first behind-closed-doors match. Reports say the two players were suffering from shrapnel injuries.
Rugby Union... Worcester Warriors player Michael Fatialofa has been cleared to return home from hospital. He's been receiving treatment since suffering a serious neck injury during the match against Saracens on 4 January, spending three weeks in intensive care in London followed by five months at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital in Aylesbury.
A new optional regional transport tax for businesses, introduced in France’s 2025 budget, aims to fund eco-friendly mobility projects. ...
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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...
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In France, drinking water is heavily contaminated with "forever pollutants," particularly trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), as revealed by two studies from ...
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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 ...
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Four cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region made Booking.com's 2025 list of the "most welcoming destinations in France." ...
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