Evening Update Tuesday 18 April 2023

Following his televised speech last night, which was watched by over 15 million people, President Macron has been meeting with representatives of employers organizations today. The president said that he wished to allow social partners until the end of this year to create a "pact of life at work".

Alpes-Maritimes firefighters have been tackling a blaze in La Trinite near Nice. The fire, which reportedly started in the grounds of a villa before spreading to nearby undergrowth yesterday evening, was brought under control this morning. Canadair water bombing aircraft were brought in to battle the fire alongside eighty firefighters and twenty fire appliances.

Three people are in a serious condition in hospital after another shooting in Marseille last night. Four people received gunshot injuries in a shooting in the 3rd arrondissement, one of whom was a teenager.

As the tourist season gets underway, the Var prefecture has called on tourists as well as hosts to be vigilant about saving water. 95 communes out of the 153 in the department are already affected by water restrictions. Details can be found on the prefecture's website www.var.gouv.fr

Motorway operator VINCI Autoroutes is forecasting particularly heavy traffic for departures this weekend from the Paris region, the Rhône Valley and around the Mediterranean. In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, traffic will be heavy on Friday approaching and leaving major cities such as Nice, Toulon, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, on the A8, A50, A52 and A57 motorways, in both directions of traffic, from mid-afternoon until early evening. Traffic will also be heavy around major cities and Saturday and Sunday at the end of the afternoon.

The line up for this summer's Nice Jazz Festival has been announced. Acts include Tom Jones, Herbie Hancock and Tower of Power. The festival takes place from 18 to 21 July. More details on www.nicejazzfestival.fr

 

BUSINESS

The number of people looking for work in the UK has risen and job vacancies have fallen. About 220,000 more people were seeking work between December and February than in the quarter before. The Office for National Statistics said that unemployment rose slightly and job vacancies fell for the ninth time in a row. However, data also showed a rise in the employment rate as more people returned to the jobs market.

Apple has opened its first retail store in India. Chief Executive Tim Cooke was present for the opening in Mumbai. The company will open a second store in Delhi on Thursday. Until now, Apple products have been available in India either online or through resellers.  Currently more than 95% of smartphones in India run on Google's Android platform.

 

SPORT

Football… Manchester City have submitted a planning application to increase stand capacity by 60,000 places. Current capacity at the Etihad Stadium is about 53,000. The proposed £300m development also includes a sky bar overlooking the pitch, a 3,000-capacity fan zone, a new club shop and museum, and a 400 bed hotel.

Tennis… Novak Djokovic has said that his right elbow is "not in an ideal condition". The 35 year old had surgery in 2018 and wore strapping during his defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters last week. Djokovic is still expected to begin his quest for a record breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the upcoming French Open.

Motorsports.. Ferrari have had their Australian Grand Prix penalty appeal rejected. Following a meeting today, the race stewards decided that "no significant and relevant new element" had been presented by Ferrari and therefore dismissed the petition. The penalty against Carlos Sainz meant that he fell from fourth place to 12th. 

 

 

 

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