Evening Update Thursday 2 May

The Cannes Film Festival has announced that Quentin Tarantino’s film Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood is going to be presented in competition at this year’s festival. The film is Tarantino’s ninth feature film and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. It’s understood that some of the actors will also be present at the festival.

A hiker has died following a fall on the coastal path between Bandol and Saint-Cyr in the Var. The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon shortly after 3pm. The 20 year old female victim did not survive the fall despite the intervention of emergency services.

The consumption of alcohol has been banned in the Ardèche gorges until the end of September. The order by the prefect, which covers both hikers and boat users in the region, said that the measure was intended to prevent accidents due to drunkenness and to avoid fights and dangerous behaviour.  Regular checks will be carried out and penalties levied on those in violation of the order. 

Local businesses in old Nice have launched an online petition following an announcement by the town hall that the municipal showers are to be relocated to a busy shopping street in the old town. Launched two days ago by shop and restaurant owners, the online petition STOP to the construction of municipal showers in old Nice on rue Halles aux Herbes is being widely talked about in the old town. The planned move would see the shower facilities moved to a busy shopping area popular with both the Niçois and tourists, with locals fearing a negative impact on the area.

A hospital in Paris is lodging a legal complaint after dozens of May Day protesters entered the hospital and almost succeeded in reaching an intensive care unit. Reports say that police overpowered the protesters within a few minutes and about 30 of them were detained. French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, who visited the hospital, described it as an "attack" by so-called "black block" far-left, anti-capitalist militants.

The funeral of the legendary French singer Dick Rivers has taken place in Paris this afternoon.  Rivers, who was from Nice, was the leader of the Wild Cats and was a contemporary of Johnny Hallyday and Eddy Mitchell.  He will be buried in the cemetery at Montmartre.

 

BUSINESS

Canadian aerospace firm, Bombardier, has announced that it’s selling its entire aerostructures operation, including its factory in Belfast. The company also has factories in Morocco.  It employs about 3,600 people across several locations in Northern Ireland.

The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at 0.75%. It also raised its UK growth forecast for this year. The Bank now sees growth of 1.5%, up from February's forecast of 1.2%.

Several surveys showing the state of manufacturing across the eurozone has been published by IHS Markit. In the surveys, a reading above 50 signals growth, below 50 shows contraction. In Gemany the figure was at 44.4 in April, up marginally from March's 80-month low. The measure for French manufacturing rose to exactly 50 in April, which IHS Markit said signalled "a stabilisation in the goods-producing sector". In Italy, PMI was 49.1

 

SPORT

Rugby Union… Wales have confirmed that defence coach Shaun Edwards is leaving.  He had been offered a new contract but has decided to leave after the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Also in Rugby Union news, Northampton Saints player James Craig will retire at the end of the season to concentrate on his coaching career. The 30-year-old joined from Leeds in 2011 and has played 73 times, helping the club win the European Challenge Cup and Premiership title in 2014.

Cycling…. The 2019 Tour de Yorkshire has got underway in Doncaster today and finishes on Sunday in Leeds. The women's race lasts two days and starts in Barnsley on Friday, with the finish being in Scarborough. The 2019 route takes in 150 villages, towns and cities.

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