Newly released road safety figures have revealed that a person dies on the Riviera's roads every six days. The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture has counted 45 road deaths since the beginning of the year - including four last month. Most of the fatal accidents occur in built-up areas - and motorcyclists are the most common victims. With the arrival of autumn weather, the préfecture is urging bikers to take extra care and wear strong protective clothing. Police will be carrying out reinforced roadside checks on vehicles between now and the end of the year, checking above all for drink and drug-driving.
A 21-year-old woman has died at an illegal rave party in the Hautes-Alpes. The victim suffered a heart attack. An investigation has been opened to determine what happened. The rave, which began on Friday night and continued into Saturday, attracted 5,000 people to a site in Trescléoux. Police, firefighters and paramedics spent the weekend on-site to ensure people's safety and the partygoers gradually dispersed on Sunday evening.
Police in the Var have started using flying cameras to fight drug trafficking. The camera, mounted on a remote-controlled drone, is used to monitor known drug-dealing hotspots and capture video of people's comings and goings. The images can be viewed live by the drone's operator. The national police in the Var have two police officers dedicated to drone surveillance and they say the first results have been promising. Three young dealers in Toulon have been convicted so far using evidence gathered by the drone.
In other French news, four people have been killed in western France when a Tesla electric car caught fire for reasons not yet determined. The accident occurred outside the city of Niort. The driver and three passengers were employees at a nearby restaurant. According to preliminary reports, the vehicle rammed into several road signs at high speed. The passengers on board were already dead when rescuers arrived at the scene.
A Ukrainian ambulance covered in bullet holes was parked on the Place de la Libération in Nice at the weekend. The badly damaged ambulance was targeted by the Russian army in September 2022 in the Kharkiv region. It has travelled through eight European countries to raise awareness and collect funds for an association providing medical support in Ukraine. The ambulance could also be seen in Cannes yesterday.
The mayor of L'Escarène is planning to set up a DNA database for dogs to encourage owners to pick up their mess. The town has issued a decree making canine DNA profiling compulsory for all local dogs. It will store the details in a database and use it to identify droppings that are left in the street. A local vet will be responsible for taking the samples, which will cost each owner €50 - six times less than the potential fine for dog mess, which is €300.
BUSINESS
Boeing will cut its workforce by a tenth - cutting 17,000 jobs - and delay production as the aeroplane maker deals with issues across its business. Chief executive Kelly Ortberg said in an email to staff that "executives, managers, and employees'" jobs are all at risk. The business also warned of losses in its weapons and military equipment manufacturing arm. The news comes as the business grapples with staff striking and mounting concerns around the quality of its planes.
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to get rid of regulation that "needlessly holds back investment" at a major business conference in London today. The International Investment Summit comprises more than £50bn of deal announcements - or roughly twice the £28bn unveiled at the previous comparable gathering held under the former Conservative administration. The government is eager to show it is making progress on its mission to deliver economic growth after marking 100 days in office and ahead of the chancellor's first budget on 30 October. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned of "tough decisions" at the spending review as Labour says it needs to plug a £22bn "black hole" in the public finances left by the Conservatives. The government says that international investment will help with its goals to create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off.
Fitch ratings agency has put France on a negative outlook after the government presented its 2025 budget. The agency has issued a critical opinion of prime minister Michel Barnier’s efforts to deal with a sharp deterioration in public finances. The ratings firm’s reproach comes after it already downgraded France to AA- from AA in April last year, a credit assessment it shares with the UK and Belgium.
SPORT
Cricket - England captain Ben Stokes is fit to play in the second Test against Pakistan , coming in alongside pace bowler Matthew Potts. All-rounder Stokes and Potts replace Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson in two changes to the side that won a record-breaking first Test. It has been confirmed the second Test, beginning on Tuesday, will be played on the same pitch used for the first. Stokes injured his hamstring in August and has missed four Tests, including England’s win last week. Victory would give England a second consecutive series win in Pakistan following their 3-0 triumph in 2022.
Athletics - Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich smashed the women’s marathon world record by nearly two minutes at the Chicago Marathon yesterday, winning in 2:09:56. Chepngetich became the first woman to break 2 hours and 10 minutes in the marathon. The 30-year-old broke the previous record of 2:11:53, which was set by Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. Chepngetich has an impressive record at the Chicago Marathon: she also won the race in 2021 and 2022 and finished runner-up last year.
Football - Tonight, in Group 2 of the Nations League, France play Belgium with an 8.45 kick-off. At the same time and in the same group, Italy face Israel. In group 3, Germany are playing the Netherlands.
New figures just released point to a sharp rise in cases of school violence, bullying and harassment in the Alpes-Maritimes....
Read More
Villas in Grasse and near Saint-Tropez belonging to Russian oligarchs have been seized as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering. ...
Read More
A popular brand of bicycles sold at Decathlon have been recalled throughout France. The danger is that they could break whilst riding....
Read More
More bad weather is on its way with gale force winds and heavy rain forecast this week.
Read More
Newly released road safety figures have revealed that a person dies on the Riviera's roads every six days....
Read More
