French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal is in Nice today. He has been visiting a vaccination centre as well as talking to restaurant owners in the old town regarding the first day of the extension of the health pass.
The requirement to present a health pass has been extended to all restaurants, cafes and bars today as well as hospitals for non-emergency cases and certain shopping centres. The health pass has been required since 21 July for access to places of leisure and culture admitting more than 50 people but as from today a health pass will be required no matter how may people the venue can accomodate. Long distance travel by public transport is also affected by the requirement. Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari has said that a quarter of all trains will be checked for compliance today.
The SNCF have said that you must have a health pass to take a TGV INOUI, Intercités, and Ouigo train or a long-distance international train from France. These new measures do not apply to local TER trains running in France, RER and Transilien trains. Specific rules are in operation for Eurostar trains to England. SNCF say the pass must be presented in paper or digital format from the Tousanticovid app. The health pass on trains applies to all passengers over 12 years old on applicable trains but for travelers aged 12 to 17 inclusive, it will only apply from September 30. For trains affected by the health pass requirement, boarding will probably be slightly slowed down in order to carry out checks, so it is advisable to bear that in mind when arriving at the station. A reminder that wearing a mask is complusory on all train journeys for passangers from the age of 11. You can get full details at sncf.com
Nice Cote d'Azur airport say that a health pass is compulsory regardless of the destination, including in mainland France, for passengers aged 18 and over and the health pass requirement applies to passangers aged 11 and over flying to Corsica. You can get full details of everything that's required on the Nice Cote d'Azur Airport website nice.aeroport.fr
A new rapid Covid-19 testing centre is opening at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. As from tomorrow, August 10, it will be open from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., without appointment. The time slots will be extended in the evening in the coming days. The town hall said that the opening of the new testing centre will allow up to 500 RT-PCR tests per day to be performed and will deliver results in less than 24 hours.
A man has turned himself in to police after the death of a priest in the Vendee department in the west of France. The body of the priest was found at a monastery in the village of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sevre. Reports say that terrorism has been ruled out. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has gone to the area this evening. Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi said that he was "horrified by the murder" and the President of the Provence Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region Renaud Muselier expressed his "immense emotion and anger" and said that he was thinking of all Catholics in France.
One person has died and three others have been injured in a shooting in Perpignan in the early hours of this morning. Reports say that shots were fired from a car. It's believed that the incident may be connected with drugs trafficking.
A group of French firefighters has left the Italian Adriatic port of Ancona to travel to Greece where serious wildfires have cause widespread damage. The group spent last night on the road to Ancona where they joined up with firefighters from Germany who are also travelling to Greece. They join a small group of French firefighters who are already on site in Greece.
BUSINESS
German exports have continued their recovery from pandemic lows. Federal statistics office Destatis said that exports in June were up by 1.3% and imports by 0.6% compared with May. It's the 14th consecutive month that exports have risen. Exports were 1.1% and imports 10% higher than in February 2020, the month before restrictions were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic in Germany.
The world's largest oil producer Saudi Aramco has annouced a large rise in profits boosted by increased oil prices. Net income rose by 288% to $25.5bn for the second quarter.
SPORT
Olympics... The Olympic flag has arrived in France today. The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo received the flag during the closing ceremony yesterday. Paris is the host city for the next Olympics in 2024.
Football... Barcelona have said that Sergio Aguero will be out for 10 weeks because of a tendon injury. Aguero joined Barcelona from Manchester City earlier this summer.
Former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic has joined Japanese team Vissel Kobe. He's also played for Stoke City and Major League Soccer side Montreal Impact.
Rugby League... England player George Burgess has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Australian NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons. He has previously played in Australia, but was last with Wigan.
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