In a major drugs seizure, French customs and Navy personnel have seized over 7 tonnes of cannabis resin. The drugs were seized from a boat in the Mediterranean and the haul was unloaded over the weekend at the naval base in Toulon. Three alleged trafficers of Turkish nationality were detained in the operation.
A man has died in Sainte-Maxime today in a work accident. Several workers were unloading glass windows from a vehicle when one of them fell onto one of the workers. The man was reported to have gone into cardiac arrest and died despite the efforts of emergency services to revive him. Several of his colleagues were treated for shock.
Customs officers in Marseilles have seized 55,000 packets of contraband cigarettes. According to reports, three men of Armenian origin have been placed in custody and several weapons were also seized in the operation. The cigarettes were seized from a warehouse storage company.
Several arrests have been made in connection with the parcel bomb which injured 13 people in Lyon on Friday. A 24 year old man, who is suspected of being the perpetrator of the attack was arrested this morning. His mother and an alleged accomplice were also taken into custody. According to reports, the suspected perpetrator is a computer science student of Algerian nationality.
A fourth French national has been sentenced to death by a court in Iraq for belonging to the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. Three French nationals were also sentenced to death yesterday and reportedly have 30 days in which to appeal their sentence.
BUSINESS
Fiat Chrysler has proposed a merger with French carmaker Renault. According to reports, if the plan went ahead the combined business would be 50% owned by Fiat shareholders and 50% by Renault shareholders. Fiat Chrysler said the merger would create a global automotive leader, with 8.7 million in vehicle sales. The proposal will now be considered by the Renault board.
The Swedish government is embarking on a tour of the UK to reassure Swedish expatriates and businesses about the impact of Brexit. A specially equipped bus, referred to as a pop-up embassy on wheels, will tour the country, including visits to Brighton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Cardiff.
SPORT
Cricket…England bowler Mark Wood will be fit to face South Africa in the opening game of the World Cup on Thursday. He went off in the warm-up game against Australia on Saturday with a foot problem.
England have beaten Afghanistan by 9 wickets at the Oval today in an official World Cup warm-up game. Afghanistan were all out for 160. England were 161 for 1 in reply.
Football.. The Champions League playoff between Aston Villa and Derby is taking place at Wembley today. Final score Villa 2 Derby 1.
Tennis…Caroline Wozniacki is out of the French Open after a first round defeat to world number 68 Veronika Kudermetova. The Danish 13th seed lost 0-6 6-3 6-3. Meanwhile, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from the French Open with an arm injury. Local player Alizé Cornet, who is from Nice, is also out of the French open after being defeated in two sets by 21 year old Slovakian player Viktoria Kuzmova.
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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