Evening Update Thurs 16th January

Protests against pension reform continue in Nice tonight where members of several unions will gather at the main train station for a torchlight march through the city. The march is expected to cause disruption from 6pm onwards. Despite the government saying the strikes are coming to a ‘dead end’ three more of protest are planned for next week.

At the trial of the paedophile priest Bernard Preynat, the accused has given testimony saying he himself was abused as a child by a sacristan, then a priest and also by teachers at his seminary. He told sceptical lawyers in Lyon that this was his truth and he did not invent the assaults to apologise in court.

Teachers protesting changes to the baccalaureate are threatening not to supervise or correct the school exams which start on Monday for a six-week period. However, the Minister of Education has said the number of teachers involved is quite small and disruption would be minimal.

The mobile telephone of a young driver arrested for doing 276km/h on the autoroute shows he regularly filmed his speeding and broadcast it live on Facebook. The 25 year-old received an eight month sentence and is banned from driving for three years. He was also fined €680 euros for speeding and using his mobile phone while driving.

BUSINESS

Shares in Morgan Stanley are up 6% after the firm exceeded profit estimates and each of its three main businesses produced more revenue than expected. The bank said fourth-quarter profit surged 46% to $2.24 billion dollars or $1.30 a share,

A European challenger to Uber called Bolt has secured €50m in funding from the EU. The European Investment Bank has invested through a venture loan, which is used as an alternative to taking equity, to avoid diluting existing shareholders ownership. The app, originally called Taxify has 30m users across Europe and Africa.

It was announced today that the air route between Nice and Beijing will resume in March for the summer. Air China will fly an A330 with business and economy classes, three times weekly.

SPORT

Tennis - Organisers of the Australian Open say the tournament will start this Monday despite continuing health concerns over Melbourne's air quality caused by bushfires in the country. The tournament director said air quality was being measured every four minutes, and should it exceed safety levels, play will move to near-by indoor arenas.

Meanwhile 15 year-old American teenager Coco Gauff will once again face Venus Williams in the first round of the Grand Slam. Gauff made headlines last year when she knocked Williams out of the first round at Wimbledon.

Soccer - Kylian Mbappe, who began his football career in Monaco, scored twice against his old club as Paris Saint-Germain beat AS Monaco 4-1 in last nights Ligue 1 game at Stade Louis II. The two sides had drawn three all at Parc des Princes at the weekend.

Formula 1 - David Coulthard has described as impressive the move to include two W Series races in this years Formula 1 calendar. The W Series, which is for women drivers only, will race at the United States and Mexican Grand Prix’