Three people have died in a serious accident on the A8 motorway this morning. Two cars were involved in a head-on collision near the Mandelieu East interchange, junction 41, on the carriageway towards Italy at 6.40am this morning. According to local reports, one vehicle crossed from the carriageway going towards the Var and collided with the other vehicle which was traveling on the side of the road towards Italy. Two women died in the car traveling towards Italy and one of the occupants of the car which crossed the carriageway also died. The passenger in that vehicle is in a serious condition. The motorway was closed and traffic was taken off the carriageway at Les Adret. Traffic resumed in one lane at about 8:50 am The other two lanes, which were closed while the police conducted their investigations and removed the vehicles involved, were reopened at midday. Entrance to the motorway at Mandelieu, Les Adrets and Frejus was closed for much of the day but those junctions were re-opened this afternoon.
Nice mayor Christian Estrosi has removed Israeli flags from the front of the town hall, after being ordered to take them down by court order. The flags had been in place since October 2023 in support of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Christian Estrosi said that he is complying with the court order because he respects the law of the country. In a post on social media, he said that the faces of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, as well as those of the two French hostages held by Iran, will now be displayed on the town hall.
Two people have died in storms which have affected much of France. Over a dozen people have also been injured. A man in his fifties died when his quad bike hit a tree in the Mayenne department in north-west France and a 12 year old boy lost his life when he was hit by a falling tree in the Tarne-et-Garonne department in the south-west. According to energy company Enedis, about 75,000 people were still without power at midday today, mostly in central and south-western areas.
The Paris public health department has taken over an investigation into an outbreak of food poisoning in the Aisne department in northern France. 23 people have been affected by E-coli poisoning in the department over the past two weeks, all except one of whom are children. A teenage girl died from food poisoning on June 16. The source of the poisoning has not yet been established, but authorities are working on the theory that it is from meat and several butchers shops have been closed as a precaution.
An additional union representing air traffic controllers has announced a strike notice. The union is calling for industrial action on July 3. It follows the announcement of strike action by another air traffic controllers union for 3 and 4 July.
BUSINESS
The US economy contracted in the first quarter by an amount greater than initially estimated. The US Bureau for Labor Statistics said today that the economy shrank at an annualised rate of 0.5% in the quarter, revised up from the 0.2% initially estaimated.
The owner of a large UK bioethanol plant is in negotiations with the government regarding its future, which has been put in doubt by the terms of the recent US-UK trade deal. Associated British Foods said that it is beginning consultation with its employees at the plant in Hull, a process which will conclude with a major decision to be made on the plant's future. The US-UK trade deal is set to remove UK tariffs on US ethanol and replace it with a zero-tariff quota of 1.4 billion litres, which is the size of the UK's entire ethanol market. ABB said that the change comes on top of regulations that give overseas producers "an unfair advantage in the British market" and said that "the operating environment is now impossible".
North Korea is opening a beach resort. Wonsan Kalma on the country's east coast will open to tourists on 1 July, six years after it was due to be completed. It will initially be open only to domestic tourists, it isn't clear whether foreigners will be able to gain access in the future. Many of the country's elite have private villas in the town.
SPORT
Cricket.... Joffra Archer has been named in the England squad for next week's Test match against India. He hasn't played Test cricket since 2021 because of injury. The squad is otherwise unchanged from the First test at Headingley.
Warren Deutrom is to step down as chief executive of Cricket Ireland at the end of August. He's been in the role for 19 years, during which Ireland were granted Test status by the ICC.
Football... Liverpool have signed Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in a deal worth £40 million. The 21-year-old Hungary international has signed a five-year contract with the club.
Tensions are running high in Antibes, where around thirty animal rights activists from the group One Voice have gathered outside the former Marineland...
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Météo-France has extended the yellow heatwave warning in the Var for today Thursday, July 17th. The warning is in place until 10pm this evening with h...
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Due to ongoing drought, the Var department has placed nearly 150 communes under water vigilance and four under official drought alert. ...
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Meteo France have placed the Var on a top-level red alert for forest fires today. Two other nearby departments, the Bouches-du-Rhone and the Vaucluse ...
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The Var department will be placed under red alert for wildfires on Wednesday the 16th of July, due to a "very high" risk, worsened by strong Mistral a...
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