French Health Minister Olivier Veran and government spokesperson Gabrial Attal have been visiting a vaccination centre in Paris today to encourage young people to get vaccinated. During the visit, the health minister, who is a former neurologist, performed a vaccination on a person himself. He Tweeted that "the vaccine is 95% effective against severe forms, 100% effective against containment". Gabrial Attal said that if "we do not want to have to resume restrictions and hyper-restrictive measures, we must achieve collective immunity".
Speaking to French media this morning, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clement Beaune, called on people who had not yet booked their holidays to avoid Spain and Portugal. He added that there is currently no ban on movement within Europe but that the goverment was observing the situation in individual countries.
The results of a test event held to measure the spread of the coronavirus amongst concert goers have been released. A concert on the 29 May at an arena in Paris was held in an enclosed space with attendees required to wear masks but not to social distance. The Paris Public Hospitals said today that data had shown that similar infection rates were recorded amongst people attending the event as were recorded amongst a control group not attending.
An investigation is underway to discover the cause of the major accident which happened yesterday afternoon on the A8 motorway. A truck and 5 cars were involved in the accident between Les Adrets and Mandelieu in which one person died and two others suffered serious injuries.
Local elected officials including Nice mayor Christian Estrosi attended a presentation of phase 2 of the construction work at the Pasteur 2 Hospital in Nice this morning. Phase 2 represents almost one third of the overall construction work at the site. It provides for the tripling of outpatient capacity, the optimal management of emergency care and the simplification of admission processes as well as an advanced imaging platform and facilities to treat those with heart, lung and thorax problems. Final delivery is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Antibes Mayor Jean Leonetti visited the hospital in Antibes this morning with Philippe de Mester, director of the Regional Health Agency. They expressed their thanks and encouragement to the hospital staff who the mayor said are showing exceptional commitment to managing the COVID19 crisis. The visit was also an opportunity to present the financial support plan under the Ségur de la Santé.
Seven forest massifs in the Var are at a "Severe" fire risk level today and the other two massifs are at "Moderate" risk. The prefecture is remiding residents and visitors that if they see a fire starting they should call 18 or 112. As every year during the summer, the prefecture regulates access, traffic and parking on certain roads serving the forest massifs and informs walkers about the possibilities of access and the level of forest fire danger. More information is available at www.var.gouv.fr
Traffic was disrupted in Cannes this morning due to an accident in the Ferrage tunnel. Traffic in several nearby areas was also affected as a result including on the expressway and in the Forville, Clémenceau and Pantiero sectors.
BUSINESS
The European Commission has found that German carmakers Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide emissions cleaning. The Commission imposed a fine of just over € 875 million. Daimler was not fined, as it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission. VW Group has said that the contents of the discussions between the companies were not implemented, that customers were not harmed and that it was considering appealing against the decision.
The number of flights in the UK increased significantly last week but is still well below levels seen before the pandemic. Data released today by the Office for National Statistics showed that in the week ending 4 July, the seven-day average number of daily flights increased by 8% compared with the previous week but was still only around one-third of the level seen in the equivalent week in 2019.
Takeaway food delivery business Deliveroo has said that it expects sales growth to be higher than previously thought. In a trading update released today the company said that it has seen continued strong growth in the first half of its current year and was increasing the guidance for full year growth in transactions from between 30% to 40% to between 50% to 60%. In the second quarter of 2021 orders in the UK and Ireland grew 94% year on year to 38 million orders.
SPORT
Euro 2020... England are through to their first major tournament final since the World Cup in 1966 after beating Denmark 2-1 last night. They will play Italy in the final at Wembley on Sunday night. Meanwhile Uefa have announced disciplinary action against England after a laser pointer was directed at Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel during last night's match. England are also charged with causing a disturbance during Denmark's national anthem and setting off fireworks. Uefa said that the matters will be dealt with by the organization's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
Olympics...The Japanese government has announced that the Olympic Games are to be held without spectators due to rising cases of coronavirus. It said a state of emergency in Tokyo will run for a period which includes the Games, which are scheduled to take place in Tokyo between 23 July and 8 August.
Tour de France... German rider Nils Politt has won today's stage. Tadej Pogacar leads the race overall.
Ineos Grenadiers rider Luke Rowe is leaving the Tour early after missing the time cut on a stage for the first time in his career. The 31 year old has ridden in the Tour seven times since 2015, finishing on each occasion except 2019.
Tennis...Ashleigh Barty will play Karolina Pliskova in the Wimbledon women's final. Top seed Barty reached her first Wimbledon final with a straight-set win over Angelique Kerber this afternoon. Pliskova defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the other semi-final this evening.
Football... The president of the French Football Federation has confirmed that Didier Deschamps will reamain as the national team manager until next year's World Cup.
Paris Saint-German have signed Spainish international Sergio Ramos on a two-year deal. He was previously with Real Madrid where he spent 16 seasons.
Rugby Union... Alex Dombrandt will make his Test debut as part of the England squad playing against Canada on Saturday. Harry Wells, Dan Kelly and Adam Radwan get their first caps for the match.
Cricket...England have beaten Pakistan by nine wickets in the one day international at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
Read More
Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
Read More
Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
Read More
French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
Read More
France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
Read More
