Evening Update Tuesday 13th February 2024

A drunk-driver has been handed a four-year sentence for a car crash in Valbonne in which a young nurse was killed. The 20-year-old man from Nice collided at high speed into the other vehicle in March 2022, killing its passenger, a 34-year-old woman. The driver of the other car required multiple operations and still suffers serious after-effects from the crash. A court in Grasse sentenced the drunk-driver to a four-year prison term, of which three years are suspended and the other year is to be spent under house arrest with an electronic tag. The man was also hit with a three-year driving ban and ordered to pay compensation to the victims.

Just hours after the Route de la Tinée partly reopened following yesterday's landslide, another rockfall cut off the area again yesterday evening. Cars were allowed to use the RM2205 from 5pm yesterday after 100 cubic metres of debris that fell in the early hours of Monday morning was cleared and temporary traffic lights were put in place. This afternoon the road heading up to the Mercantour ski resorts is only open from 5pm to 8pm. Last night, shortly before 7pm, a second landslide occurred nearby, on the Route de Grenoble, near La Tinée station, cutting off traffic there and also affecting the Train des Pignes. Two vehicles were slightly damaged. Drivers were stuck in traffic jams for two hours while the road was partially cleared. Diversions remain in place today.

Authorities in Nice have announced tougher sanctions for people caught fly-tipping. Illegally dumped waste - from washing machines to old mattresses - is a growing problem in parts of the cit