Evening Update Monday 15 May 2023

The use of drones for surveillance purposes has been authorized during the Cannes Film Festival. The prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Bernard Gonzalez, made a decree for the use of drones in certain areas around the Palais de Festivals for the festival's entire duration. The 76th edition of the film festival gets underway tomorrow and runs until the 27th of May.

The Monaco government has extended the period for which vehicles can be detained over the Grand Prix period. In the event of violation of the Highway Code, the immediate immobilization of the vehicle will be extended to a period of 120 hours. The extension is also in place for the duration of the Top Marques car show next month. The government said that certain events can cause large concentrations of vehicles likely to cause significant disturbances to public order.

Rush hour traffic on the A8 motorway was severely disrupted this morning after two separate accidents near Villeneuve-Loubet. Delays of about an hour were experienced by motorists after the first incident at the height of the rush hour around 8am on the carriageway towards Italy. A second accident occurred on the same carriageway at around 10am. There was one slight injury.

A man has been arrested in connection with a multiple shooting in the Grand-Est region of France at the weekend. Five people were injured in the shooting on Saturday in the town of Villerupt near the border with Luxembourg, three of them seriously. Reports say that a man wearing a hood opened fire from a moving car.

The French National Assembly is preparing to debate a bill aimed at reducing the risk of forest fires. The bill has already been approved by the Senate. It covers areas such as the regulation of smoking in or near certain high-risk forests and the mandatory clearing of land near forests.

Crédit Agricole Provence Côte d'Azur held a press conference recently to present details of the development of its business. Amongst the highlights, the bank said that 60,000 new customers joined the bank last year and 230 new staff were taken on. It was voted “preferred bank in the territory” in an IPSOS survey.

 

BUSINESS

The European Commission has said that the EU economy is in better shape than it projected last autumn. It said that the EU economy "is holding up remarkably well" in the face of the war in Ukraine, leading to an upgrade in its growth forecast for 2023. It said today that the EU GDP is expected to grow by 1%, compared with the 0.8% it forecast three months ago. It predicts growth of 1.7% in 2024.

The company behind the websites Vice and Motherboard has filed for bankruptcy in the US and is set to be sold to a group of its lenders. The youth-focused digital publisher said it will continue to operate during the bankruptcy process and added that it "expects to emerge as a financially healthy and stronger company in two to three months".

 

SPORT

Football.... Australia women’s team player Alanna Kennedy has signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City. Kennedy has made 29 appearances for the club since joining from Tottenham in 2021, but has played only seven games this season because of a calf problem.

Cricket...An update to the ICC's conditions will mean that the so-called 'soft signal' given by on-field umpires when referring a catch will be scrapped. The frequently criticised process will end and umpires will simply consult with the TV umpire before any decision is made. The change will come into effect for England's Test against Ireland on 1 June.

 

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