President Macron has announced a re-assessment of France's military budget in the light of current threats. Speaking at an international defence industry exhibition near Paris today, he said that France has "entered a war economy" and that a much stronger European defence industry is needed. He called for a re-assessment of France's military spending for the 2019-2025 period which he said would be carried out in the coming weeks.
A 16 year old girl has died in a road accident in the Bouches-du-Rhone today. A van was in collision with a heavy goods vehicle on the D908 near Peynier to the east of Aix-en-Provence. The driver of the van is in hospital in a serious condition.
A hundred firefighters have been battling a major blaze at a campsite in the Gard department this afternoon. The Prefect of the Gard said at about 3pm that 52 chalets had been destroyed by the fire at the site in Grau-du-Roi but there had been no injuries.
Four people have died in a fire in Strasbourg. Firefighters were called to the premises in the early hours of this morning. The local prosecutor’s office said that the deceased, two adults and two children, were all from the same family.
Police intervened to stop an illegal rave party in the Bouches-du-Rhone over the weekend. 400 people took part in the rave in a natural area in Saint-Paul-les-Durance. 28 fines were issued for consumption of narcotics amongst other offences and sound equipment was seized.
Meteo France have said that a heatwave will affect much of France from Wednesday until the weekend. This rise in temperatures is due to a localized depression between the Azores and Madeira resulting in a rise of warm air over Western Europe. In coastal areas of the Var and the Alpes Maritimes daytime temperatures are expected to be in the range of 32-34 degrees, reaching about 34-38 degrees inland. Lows are not expected to drop below 20 degrees Celsius throughout France. The peak intensity of the episode is expected between Thursday and Saturday.
Traffic was disrupted in Sollies Pont in the Var after a gas leak this morning on Rue de la Republique. A security perimiter was put in place while emergency services and the GRDF dealt with the incident.
BUSINESS
Heathrow Airport has said that May was its busiest month since March 2020. 5.3m passengers travelled through Heathrow in the month, which is 79% of 2019 levels. It said that over the busy Jubilee half term 90% of passengers were through security in less than 10 minutes and no more flights were cancelled at short notice than on a normal day. Heathrow's Terminal 4 will be reopening on 14 June and 30 airlines will move in ahead of the summer peak.
The UK economy contracted by 0.3% in April, which was a weaker performance than expected. It also contracted by 0.1% in March. The Office for National Statistics said that there was a large decrease in human health and social work, where there was a significant reduction in NHS Test and Trace activity. Production also fell by 0.6% in April, driven by a fall in manufacturing of 1.0% on the month, as businesses continued to report the impact of price increases and supply chain shortages.
SPORT
Cricket... It's the fourth day of the England against New Zealand Test match. England were all out for 539 in their first innings.
Motorsports... Lewis Hamilton has confirmed that he will race at the Canadian Grand Prix despite experiencing pain in yesterday's Grand Prix in Baku, which he described as "the toughest race" of his career. Hamilton said he had "woken up feeling positive today" and that his back was "a little sore and bruised but nothing serious".
Football.... Former Juventus player Giorgio Chiellini has joined MLS side Los Angeles FC. The 37-year old left the Italian club at the end of last season after 17 years.
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The owners of a vast floating artificial island that had been planned for last summer off the coast of Mandelieu have won a legal battle to be allowed...
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