A light plane has crashed into the sea off Cannes. The four seater aircraft with just the pilot on board crashed near the Iles de Lerin this morning. The pilot was rescued by nearby boats and reports say that he is uninjured.
The Var and the Alpes-Maritimes have been put on a Meteo France Orange alert for high temperatures until at least 4pm tomorrow, Friday. An Orange alert is the third highest alert level of the four levels used by Meteo France. Meteo France also have a yellow warning for storms in the Alpes-Maritimes until 9pm this evening.
The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture has said that premises in Antibes, Biot and La Colle sur Loup should let their tap water run for two minutes before using water to drink, prepare food or brush their teeth. The Prefecture said that regulatory limits for lead and/or nickel had been exceeded at certain points on the network. The Prefecture said that the water is not polluted but prolonged stagnation causes certain corrosion and this is why the recommendation to let the tap run for two minutes had been put in place as a precaution. Steps are being taken to improve the situation.
The French Ministry of Transport has said that the planned introduction of a controle technique for motorcycles has been suspended until further notice. A decree was published in the French Official Journal yesterday and the the new measures had been expected to come into effect from 1 January 2023. The Ministry said that the suspension had been made at the request of President Macron. Associations of motorcyclists had criticised the measure.
France is sending 670,000 vaccine doses to Vietnam as part of the Covax solidarity program. President Macron said access to the vaccine must be global and equitable "to win this fight in the face of the epidemic".
The Monaco government has published Covid-19 statistics for July. The month saw a rise in infections with 312 new cases of registered residents. The incidence rate has increased significantly, standing at 276.4 on August 1 but remains well below that of the Alpes-Maritimes.
The Maritme Prefecture has issued a reminder to not interfere with the operation of Canadair water bombing aircraft. The Prefecture said it is illegal and dangerous to approach the aircraft when they are scooping up water. The area in which a plane plans to pick up water is notified by the aircraft overflying the area at low altitude. Any person in the vicinity must move as quickly as possible to a point at least 500 metres from the axis of the overflight for the duration of the operations and for at least one hour after the last flyover.
One person has died after being shot in Marseille in the early hours of this morning. The local prosecutor said that two people had approached the man in the 3rd arrondissement before opening fire. Another man was injured in another shooting nearby at about the same time. Investigations are continuing.
Three aeroplanes are on their way from France to Algeria today to help to fight the severe fires affecting the country. The French government is sending two water bombing planes and a fire-spotting reconnaisance aircraft.
The city of Cannes has won an award for urban cleanliness. Cannes joined the Association of Cities for Urban Cleanliness in 2019 and won its first distinction in June 2020. It's now won a second star of the “Eco-Clean City” label and received a special mention unanimously by the jury. The Municipality is already engaged in the process of applying for a third star in 2022.
It's expected to be another busy weeeknd on the roads. It's another "crossover" weekend with some people arriving on holiday and some leaving. VINCI Autoroutes say that significant traffic is expected from today through until Monday on the main axes of the network, including the Rhone Valley, the Mediterranean coast and the Paris and Bordeaux areas. In our region, the A8 motorway between Aix-en-Provence and the Italian border will experience heavy to saturated traffic from Friday, especially on the outskirts of the main towns. Saturday will be the busiest day in both directions throughout the day. On Sunday the traffic will still be very dense from the end of the morning in the Aix-en-Provence. If you're travelling on French motorways you can find lots of useful information on the website https://www.vinci-autoroutes.com
BUSINESS
The UK's GDP is estimated to have increased by 4.8% in the April to June quarter following the easing of coronavirus restrictions. The Office for National Satistics said services, production, and construction output all increased in the quarter. However, the level of GDP in the UK is still 4.4% below where it was prior to the coronavirus pandemic at the end of 2019.
The Chinese government has unveiled a five-year plan outlining tighter regulation of much of its economy. It said laws will be strengthened for "important fields" such as science and technological innovation, culture and education. The plan said China also aims to tackle monopolies and what it called "foreign-related rule of law".
Europe's biggest travel firm Tui has said that its bookings have jumped by 1.5 million since May. However, total bookings were still down 68% compared with the summer of 2019. The company said that frequent UK travel rule changes had deterred people in the UK from booking summer holidays abroad this year.
SPORT
Cricket.... England batsman Ollie Pope has been released from the squad for the second Test against India. He didn't feature in the first Test at Trent Bridge but toured India with England earlier this year.
The Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board has said that he's "confident" this winter's Ashes tour of Australia will go ahead. England players who take part in the T20 World Cup and then the Ashes face the prospect of being away from home for four months and are asking that their families be allowed to join them in Australia. Australia currently has some of the world's strictest Covid-19 protocols.
Motorsports... Aston Martin have withdrawn their appeal against Sebastian Vettel's disqualification from second place in the Hungarian Grand Prix on 1 August. Vettel's car was found to have less than the mandatory one litre of fuel remaining for testing at the end of the race.
A new optional regional transport tax for businesses, introduced in France’s 2025 budget, aims to fund eco-friendly mobility projects. ...
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A judge has authorised a dive to inspect the wreckage of a plane in the sea off Antibes. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean on September 11 1968...
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In France, drinking water is heavily contaminated with "forever pollutants," particularly trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), as revealed by two studies from ...
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The trial of the Tunisian man accused of the murder of three people in the Nice Basilica attack is continuing in Paris. Yesterday the families of the ...
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Four cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region made Booking.com's 2025 list of the "most welcoming destinations in France." ...
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