Evening Update Thursday 22 June 2023

One person is still missing after the explosion in a building in Paris yesterday. Six people are in a critical condition in hospital. The prosecutor said today that there are about fifty victims in total, who have experienced either physical or psychological injuries. The building is on rue Saint-Jacques in the 5th arrondissement. Enquiries are continuing to establish the cause of the blast. At the moment, the first line of inquiry is that the explosion may have been caused by a gas leak.

French Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye has said that the time devoted in the curriculum to moral and civic education will be increased. The change, which sees the time doubled from half an hour to one hour per week, will take effect from the start of the new 2024 school year. The curriculum for this subject will also change. Items such as "values of the Republic", "sustainable development issues" and "access to information" will be taught.

A teenager has died in Marseille after being electrocuted. Local reports say that the 16 year old boy was found in the bath by his mother. His mobile phone was found plugged into an electrical socket and he had burn marks on his body. The tragic accident happened in the 14th arrondissement last night. Firefighters attempted to revive him without success.

Firefighters in the Var have drawn attention to the risks of drowning. The majority of accidental drownings in 2021 affected children under 5 years old and people over 65 years old. Firefighters reminded parents not to take their eyes off their children and to try to swim in a group of people.

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