Evening Update Monday 07 August

A wildfire at St Raphael has been brought under control by firefighters this afternoon. The fire, which broke out near Avenue du Grat-adis around 11am this morning has destroyed nearly 2,000 square metres of parkland.

Local hospitals are reaching critical levels as they struggle to cope with a lack of staff, a coming  heatwave and an influx of tourists. Like many hospitals, the Saint-Jean polyclinic in Cagnes-sur-Mer has seen its attendance jump with nearly 110 patients admitted each day. To avoid overcrowding in the emergency services, people are advised to call one-five first before going to A&E. 

A man is in police custody following a stabbing on the Route de Grenoble in Nice. The incident happened at lunchtime on Friday when the man stabbed two people during a dispute before fleeing the area. He was arrested by police yesterday.

The mairie at Cagnes-sur-mer has extended its ban on smoking cigarettes, vaping and hookahs, to all ten of its beaches this summer. Smokers can still smoke in the Promenade de Plage where ashtrays have been installed every 100 metres. The ban, which has two objectives, health and cleanliness, is in effect until September 30th. 

The Pope has caused some controversy by saying specifically that he will be visiting Marseilles and not France next month. It is the first visit by a pope to the city in five hundred years. The Pope is there to attend the Mediterranean Meetings, where 120 young people from 30 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, will gather to discuss issues including migration. The Pope said his visit is to this event and not a state visit to the country. He will however meet with President Macron and celebrate a mass at the Vélodrome during the visit in mid-September.   

Business News

Shares markets are fluctuating downwards today ahead of US and Chinese inflation figures due later this week. A mixed US jobs report on Friday and a downgrading of the US by credit rating agency Fitch  has not helped. 

France’s Transport Minister has confirmed plans to raisedtravel taxes on airline tickets next year. He said the tax would be used directly to finance investments and improvements to the train network.

Sport

Football - England have just about scraped through to the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup with a dramatic penalty shootout with Nigeria to decide the game. However, a red card for Lauren James is not going to help as she will be unavailable for the crunch quarter final.  Denmark are out of the competition this afternoon after a 2-nil loss to Australia. Next up, the Aussies could face France, depending on who wins tomorrows  game against Morocco. With 8 goals of far in the competition, compared to just 2 goals for Morocco, France are the bookies favourites to win. The game kicks off in Adelaide at 1pm French time.  

Rugby - Veteran lock Brodie Retallick has been named in New Zealand's squad for the Rugby World Cup despite suffering a knee injury against Australia. The player expects he will miss the opening match against hosts France but expects to on the pitch for the remainder. In the England Squad announced today Henry Slade who played in the last two world cups, is a notable absentee. England's first game is against Argentina in Marseille on September 9th.

Tennis - British No.2 Dan Evans has won the biggest title of his career so far, with a straight-sets victory over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in a rain-interrupted final of the Citi Open in Washington. It’s his first ATP 500 crown - and just his second Tour victory - with a 7-5 6-3 win. 
 

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