Evening Update Tuesday 12 May 2020

The mayor of Mougins, Richard Galy, has signed a municipal decree  making it compulsory to wear a mask in areas with a high population density and a high number of visitors, near sensitive establishments and municipal buildings. The town hall in Mougins also reiterated that the wearing of a mask on public transport is compulsory. The town hall produced a map of the sectors concerned by the new measure, which can be found here https://mougins.fr/port-du-masque-obligatoire-dans-les-secteurs-tres-frequentes-a-mougins/

Two people are being sought by police in connection with an attack on a bus in Antibes this morning. The two attempted to board a bus on the Boulevard du Cap but were barred by the driver because they weren't wearing a mask. They then proceeded to throw an object at a window of the bus causing injury to a passanger. The passanger was taken to hospital but their injuries are not thought to be serious.

The town of Lorgues in the Var is distributing masks to residents at several points from tomorrow, Wednesday May 13, to Friday May 15 from 9:30 am to 6 pm without appointment. You can find further details on the website www.lorgues.fr

According to data released today by the Banque de France, economic activity in France fell by 27% in April compared to the level expected before the confinement. The use of industrial production capacity, at 46%, was at the lowest level ever recorded in the Bank's survey.

French Secretary of State for Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, has said that reservations on TGV trains have been limited to 60% of capacity. He said that the 60% level had been chosen because it was a balance between not losing "too much money" and achieving health security. As regards air travel, he said that the French government had asked Air France to pay strict attention to limiting occupancy to 45 to 50% of capacity and said that only 2% of Air France planes are flying at the moment compared to normal.

The mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer has said that free parking will be continued until further notice.  The council has also voted in favour of creating a yellow zone of 250 parking places at 1 euro per half day.

As at early this evening, Meteo France have a yellow weather warning for high winds in the Var and the Alpes Maritimes starting at 5am tomorow (Wednesday) morning and going through until at least 3pm tomorrow.

Today would have been the opening day of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival and to mark the occasion a giant banner supporting carers has been unfurled on the Palais des Festivals on the Croisette. The Mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, said that by installing the banner he wanted "to put caregivers at the top of the bill". He said his thoughts were also with all the artists as well as the employees of the host establishments, the self-employed and entrepreneurs.

A new app has been launched to help businesses in Monaco and their customers. Users of the Carlo App can buy a gift voucher to be spent at participating businesses in the Principality. Until May 31, 2020, for each euro spent on a gift voucher, the Monaco Government will add a sum equivalent to 10% . At the moment there are 46 participating shops and restaurants and over 2,000 people have signed up to use the app.  For details of how it works see their website https://carloapp.com/
 

BUSINESS

In the UK, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced that the government's furlough scheme will be extended to the end of October. The scheme, under which eligible employees receive 80% of their monthly wages up to £2,500, had been due to expire at the end of June. However, he said that the government will ask businesses to "start sharing" the cost of the scheme from August.

Ryanair says that it plans to reintroduce 40% of its flights from 1 July. However, the plans are subject to travel restrictions being lifted and effective health measures being brought in at airports. The airline says that new rules will include face coverings being worn by all crew and passengers and cashless on-board transactions. It will ask passengers to check in online and bring fewer bags and  they will also have to download their boarding pass to a smartphone.

The French state has guaranteed a loan of 600 million euros to French DIY chains Castorama and Brico Depot. The two brands are owned by UK based Kingfisher, which operates other brands including B&Q and Screwfix.

Toyota has said that it expects a fall of 80% in its profits in the coming year. However, it said that it expects a recovery in demand in the US and Europe in early 2021. Toyota is one of the few large car makers who have made an estimate of their financial performance for the coming year. Several other car manufactuers have said that the pandemic has resulted in too much uncertainty to be able to make accurate forecasts.

China has suspended imports from several Australian abbatoirs. The move is apparently because of health certificate and labelling requirements but analysts say that it may be in retaliation for the Australian government's calls for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

SPORT

Athletics... Another major event of the athletics calendar has been postponed. The Herculis EBS - Wanda Diamond League meeting  in Monaco has been postponed from July to 14 August 2020.  Also, the Muller Anniversary Games, part of the Wanda Diamond League, which was scheduled to take place in London in early July has also been postponed.

Motorsports... Sebastian Vettel is to leave Ferrari at the end of the year after contract talks broke down with no agreement. Vettel said there was "no longer a common desire" to work together and financial matters played no part in the joint decision.

Football... French League 1 club Amiens has started legal proceedings in the Administrative Court in Paris to contest the club's relegation.  Amiens and fellow League 1 side Toulouse were relegated after the 2019-20 season was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Amiens were 19th in the table with 10 games left to play at the time matches were suspended.

Wolves have become the first Premier League club to install a drive-through COVID-19 testing station for their players and staff at their training ground. The testing takes place in the car park of the training ground and takes less than one minute.

Cricket... The qualifying tournament for next year's Women's World Cup has been postponed. The event, featuring ten teams, was due to take place in Sri Lanka from 3-19 July. The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Europe Division 2 in Denmark has also been postponed.