French Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin will visit Corsica on Wednesday and Thursday after recent violent nationalist demonstrations on the island. The minister said this morning that he "strongly condemns" the violence and gives his full support to the police officers and gendarmes who have been injured as well as to the State services concerned. He called for a return to calm without delay, without which he said "no dialogue can begin".
The French government is setting up a committee to monitor the reception of refugees from Ukraine which will involve associations of local elected representatives. The committee will bring together all the associations of local elected officials who wish to be involved alongside the State in welcoming refugees. It will meet after each meeting of the recently established interministerial crisis unit. It will make it possible to communicate useful information to local authorities, to organize the policy for welcoming refugees with local authorities, to identify the needs of local elected officials and to anticipate the management of the flow of refugees. The government's inter-ministerial crisis unit held a meeting again this morning. Government minister Marlene Schiappa said this morning that 13,500 people fleeing Ukraine have already arrived in France.
Cannes has announced that it will be twinned with the Ukranian city of Lviv. During his trip to Ukraine last week, David Lisnard, the Mayor of Cannes and President of the Association of Mayors of France, met Ukrainian mayors. Among them was Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv. The Cannes town hall said that the two mayors have decided to twin their municipalities. The Ukranian city has nearly 720,000 inhabitants and has hosted tens of thousands of refugees since the start of the conflict. David Lisnard said the partnership will make it possible to streamline and adapt Cannes' humanitarian aid as closely as possible to the needs of the population and "the thousands of Ukrainian refugees that this city welcomes every day, and to build the future".
Police in Marseille are demanding more resources in the face of what they claim is a growing incidence of knife crime in the city. This weekend there was an attack using knives in a muncipal police station and three people were seriously injured in a knife attack in the 5th arrondissement. Local reports say that about 40 police officers did not work their shift this morning in protest at the lack of resources.
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi has welcomed the announcement from the French government that the price of fuel at the pumps will be reduced by 15 cents per litre for four months from 1 April. The mayor called it "an exceptional and common-sense measure that must be accompanied by a similar effort from companies". The price reduction is expected to cost the French government about two billion euros.
BUSINESS
Many Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong fell today after new coronavirus measures were introduced in parts on north-east China. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index finished the day over 7% lower after authorities imposed a lockdown in areas including Shenzhen which has a large technology manufacturing industry.
The UK's Office for National Statistics has changed some of the items used to calculate inflation. This year, men's suits and coal are some of the items being removed, reflecting working from home and the changing environmental landscape. Anti-bacterial surface wipes were new additions, as were pet collars. The "shopping basket" of over 700 items is reviewed by the ONS annually and updated to reflect changing consumer habits.
SPORT
Rugby Union... Ireland forwards James Ryan and Ryan Baird are out of the Six Nations game against Scotland. Ryan suffered a head-on collission in the early stages of the game against England and Baird is unavailable due to a back injury.
Tennis... The International Tennis Federation has confirmed that Serbia will replace Russia in the Davis Cup. It also announced that Australia will replace Russia in the Billie Jean King Cup. The two countries are the highest ranked sides among the 2021 losing semi-finalists from each tournament.
American Football...NFL legend Tom Brady is making a comeback just six weeks after announcing his retirement. In a Tweet he said that in the past two months he's realized his "place is still on the field and not in the stands" and that he's returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd season.
Cricket... South Africa have beaten England by three wickets in their latest Womens World Cup match. England will now need to win all of their remaining four matches and hope other results go their way to reach the semi-finals.
Football.. There’s one game in the English Premier League tonight. The leaders Manchester City visit Crystal Palace.
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