Elisabeth Borne has been named as the new French Prime Minister. The announcement was made in a press release early this evening. She previously held the post of Labor Minister in the government of Jean Castex. The outgoing Prime Minister, Jean Castex, was at the Elysees Palace this evening to present his resignation to President Macron. The names of ministers in the new government should be known over the next few hours.
Jean-Baptiste Djebbari is to join the board of a company which specializes in hydrogen fueled cars. The company, Hopium, made the announcement in a Tweet earlier today. He has served as Transport Minister in the Castex government.
Train services have been severely disrupted between Nice and St Raphael in both directions this afternoon and early this evening because of a signaling problem near Cannes train station. At one point no trains were operating on the line, but at about 5.30 this evening SNCF said that some traffic had resumed with difficulty between Nice and Marseille. However, it said that only trains that are displayed on train indicator boards are running and traffic will remain "extremely disrupted until the end of the day". SNCF are advising travelers to postpone their trip.
One person has died in an apartment fire in Marseilles this afternoon. An investigation has been opened to establish the cause of the blaze in the 8th arrondissement in the south of the city.
A fire has broken out in undergrowth in Frejus this afternoon. The Var Prefecture said that firefighters were attending the blaze in rue de Montouray.
The French Ministry of the Interior has said that deaths on French roads rose by 29% in April compared to the same month last year. The figure is an increase of 11% on April 2019. In April this year 262 people lost their lives on French roads.
Renauld Muselier, the President of the Provence-Alpes-Cote-d'Azur Region, has inaugurated a new regional natural park in the Vaucleuse department. Speaking to French media, he also expressed the hope that this classification could be extended to the Plaine des Maures in the Var.
BUSINESS
Restaurant operator McDonald's has said it will permanently leave Russia. It said it made the decision because of the "humanitarian crisis" and "unpredictable operating environment" caused by the war in Ukraine. It opened its first restaurant in Russia in Moscow in 1990. The company said it was aiming to sell of all its restaurants in Russia to a local buyer.
Ryanair has reported a full year loss of €355m. It said that traffic had recovered "strongly" To 97.1 million passengers but at lower fares. It said that traffic is still 35% below pre-covid levels. CEO Michael O'Leary said he expects prices for flights to rise by a "high single-digit per cent" this summer due to high demand for European beach holidays.
SPORT
Tennis... British player Laura Robson has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 28. During her career she achieved number 27 in the world rankings, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open and was an Olympic Silver medal winner. However, she's suffered from injury in recent years, having wrist surgery and three separate hip operations.
Trade unions have announced fresh strikes and protests in France tomorrow Tuesday 28th March.
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King Charles III's state visit to France has been postponed, after a request by President Emmanuel Macron....
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Hundreds of thousands of French workers have protested against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, with violent clashes in Paris and other cit...
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The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has announced the creation of a convention centre on the port of Nice...
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The town hall in Bordeaux has been set on fire as French protests against the pension reform continue....
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