Nice mayor Christian Estrosi has held a meeting with organizers of the 2030 Winter Olympics. The mayor held discussions with David Lappartient, president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, who is also president of the International Cyclists Union. The 2030 Olympics will be hosted in two regions, with ice sports being hosted in Nice and other events taking place at various venues in the French Alps.
Local farmers are blocking several supermarkets in Manosque in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence today. They are protesting at what they say are low prices, excessive regulation and competition from imports. Meanwhile, speaking to French media this morning, French agricultural minister Annie Genevard, said that payments to French farmers who are in financial difficulties will begin before the end of the year.
Several thousand homes in central France were still without electricity earlier today after damage caused by Storm Bert. Energy company Enedis has been working in the area all weekend to reconnect customers who lost power after winds of over 100 km per hour were recorded in the area. Meanwhile, two departments in central east areas of the country, the Loire and Rhone departments, remain on a Meteo France Orange alerts for high winds early this evening, becoming yellow warnings later in the evening.
A police officer died after a motorway pile-up in bad weather on Thursday evening. The accident happened on the A6B motorway near Paris and involved a bus, four other vehicles and a motorcycle.
A teenager has died in a so-called urban rodeo in a suburb of Bordeaux. The 18 year old woman was a passenger on a motorbike which collided with another motorbike yesterday evening. A 22 year old died in an urban rodeo in the same suburb last year.
The French Senate has begun to examine the proposed budget for 2025. The budget being submitted by Prime Minister Michel Barnier aims to save 60 billion euros but may face political headwinds. The Prime Minister has begun meetings today with the leaders of the various parliamentary groups. He met with Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party this morning, who said afterwards that her party would vote for a motion of censure if the budget remains as it is.
BUSINESS
Workers at Amazon are organizing strike action this coming weekend in an effort to get what they say is fairer pay and better workers rights. The action is set to take place in about 20 countries where the retailer has operations, including the UK and the US between this coming Friday, known as "Black Friday" and next Monday.
DIY retailer Kingfisher has reported what it called "solid underlying trading" in August and September. However it reported weakness in the UK and France in October, which it said government was impacted by uncertainty related to budgets in both countries. The company owns a range of brands, including B&Q and Castorama.
SPORT
Football...Mohamed Salah says he is "disappointed" by Liverpool's failure to offer him a new contract and says he's more likely to leave than stay, stating that he's “probably more out than in." He's been Liverpool's top scorer this season with 12 goals goal is out of contract at the end of the season. A club source has told BBC Sport that contact between Liverpool and Salah's agent is ongoing and has been positive.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr will miss the Champions League game against Liverpool on Wednesday because of a hamstring injury.
Cricket... India have beaten Australia by 295-runs in the first Test in Perth. They now have a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series. India were 150 and 487-6 declared. Australia were 104 and 238.
Speed restrictions are in place on all major roads in the Alpes-Maritimes today because of a smog alert....
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A Marseille magistrate has been sentenced on the 17th of June in Nîmes for repeatedly avoiding motorway tolls using fake license plates. ...
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A major police stop-and-search operation along France's borders is being carried out today, involving 4,000 police officers, gendarmes and customs off...
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SFR has announced automatic compensation of 100GB of free mobile data for affected customers following a major network outage on the 16th of June....
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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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