A major police operation is underway today in and around the village of Greolieres in the Alpes-Maritimes. Authorities are searching for a local man who is suspected of involvement in the shooting of a woman in Plan-de-la-Tour in the Var at the weekend. Two hundred police officers, several helicopters and personnel from the GIGN unit of the national police are reportedly on site. The local prosecutor said that the village and an area up to 7km from the village are being searched. Police issued a message this morning advising people to avoid the area and asking the population of Greolieres and its surroundings to stay at home, except in an emergency. Early this afternoon police issued a call for witnesses to locate a man, who they named as 33 year old Marc Floris, who is 1 metre 75 tall, slim with brown hair.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex is expected to speak at 1pm on Wednesday after the Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday morning to give an update on the health situation.
Seven firefighters unions have written to parliamentarians to express their opposition to compulsory vaccination. The unions said that they reject the proposal of President Macron to impose vaccination on all firefighters and called it a "new attack on individual freedoms".
Meanwhile, over one hundred people marched from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin to Menton today to protest against the extension of the Health Pass and the compulsory vaccination of caregivers.
Government spokesperson Gabrial Attal said this morning that the government will introduce measures to ensure that those people who cannot be vaccinated, for example because of allergies, will not be penalised. A health pass will be required to gain admission to leisure and cultural venues admitting more than 50 people from this Wednesday. From the beginning of August it will be extended to cafes, restaurants, large shopping centres and long distance transport.
There was a slight fall in the number of deaths on French roads in June compared to the same month in 2019. Securite Routiere said that 289 people died on the nation's roads in June which was 3 less than in June 2019. There was an increase of 37% compared to June 2020, but the agency said that 2020 was an atypical year because of the health crisis.
The Monaco government has decided to grant restaurants and certain businesses free use of the public highway for their terrace until the end of September. The measure is back dated to the beginning of January this year. Establishments concerned will benefit from this assistance without any action on their part and will be kept informed by the Monaco Municipal Services.
The Maritimes Prefecture has said that 280 operations were carried out by CROSSMed from 9 to 15 July including 77 rescues at sea and 95 assistance missions to ships. CROSSmed carries out search and rescue, maritime navigation surveillance, pollution monitoring and the communication of maritime safety information in the Meditteranean.
Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard has inaugurated the latest phase of the beautification plan for the Cannes coastline which has been underway since 2014. The third phase, located between Square Mistral and the new Grand Parking de la Plage, includes the creation of an enlarged pedestrian promenade, the extension of the cycle path and modernization of street furniture and lighting. 112 additional free parking spaces have been created by extending the Grand Parking de la Plage.
BUSINESS
Chinese company Tencent is acquiring British video games developer Sumo Group for about 919 million pounds. Sumo was established in Sheffield in 2003 and has grown to include several UK studio locations as well as facilities overses in locations including Poland and India.
Deliveries by grocery delivery company Ocado have been disrupted after a fire at a fulfilment centre in south-east London on Friday. The company said the blaze started when three grocery picking robots collided. It said this afternoon that "due to ongoing operational issues" resulting from the fire, some orders will be cancelled or delayed by several hours. It added that all affected customers will be contacted.
SPORT
Rugby Union..British and Irish Lions defence coach Steve Tandy has said that Alun Wyn Jones is fit for Saturday's first Test against South Africa. He also indicated that "the majority" of the team for the game had been decided.
Olympics... Several Olympic athletes have tested positive for Covid-19. Two South Africa footballers were the first to test positive, followed by a USA gymnast. A team member of the gymnast has been identified as a close contact. Six athletes and two staff members from Team GB are also self-isolating.
Football... Arsenal have completed the signing of Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht on a long-term contract.
Andy Carroll is looking for a new club after leaving Newcastle, according to manger Steve Bruce. The former England player's contract expired at the end of June. He joined Newcastle for the second time in 2019.
French scientists have been developing technological tools for the past four years to help athletes optimize their training for the Paris 2024 Olympic...
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Nice airport says as many as 60% of flights will be cancelled tomorrow due to a nationwide strike by air traffic controllers....
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After eight months of work and several sea trials, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has begun a six-week operation in the Mediterranean, ...
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A group of experts have come up with more than 150 recommendations for how Nice can deal with the increasing effects of climate change....
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Some communes in the Alpes-Maritimes will be plunged into darkness this Monday evening. For the third year running to mark Earth Day, mayors in the Al...
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