Traffic was severely disrupted on the A8 motorway this morning after a vehicle caught fire in the Las Planas tunnel near Nice. Delays of about two hours were experienced on the carriageway towards Italy before the vehicle was removed from the tunnel. Traffic in the opposite direction, towards Aix-en-Provence was also disrupted. The road fully reopened at around midday.
Meanwhile, motorway operator VINCI Autoroutes have said that very heavy traffic is expected this coming weekend. It said that this is especially the case in the direction of returns from tomorrow in the Rhône Valley, around the Mediterranean coast and on the Bordeaux-Paris axis. Traffic will be particularly dense on Saturday and will remain heavy in certain regions until next Monday. In our region, on the A8 motorway between Aix-en-Provence and the Italian border, traffic will be very busy in the return direction on Friday and Saturday, particularly around the main cities such as Aix-en-Provence and Nice, with peaks between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The sub-prefect of Grasse has taken part in an operation to fight against urban rodeos in Cannes alongside the Alpes-Maritimes National Police. The prefecture said that from August 16 to 21, there were 41 control operations carried out, 2 vehicles were seized, 1,660 people were checked, there were 8 arrests, and 395 fines were issued.
The French government is launching an information campaign to raise awareness of steps to take during flooding. The Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Bechu, said today that an information campaign would start tomorrow aimed at fifteen departments around the Mediterranean. He said that the messages would warn of the risks of "Mediterranean phenomena" which he said would start from the end of August. He added that the risk of flooding is increased by the dryness of soil caused by the recent drought conditions.
BUSINESS
Gatwick airport has said that passenger demand was at just under three quarters of pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter and almost sixty per cent for the half year period. 13.1 million passengers passed through the airport in first six months of the year. Gatwick has revised its traffic forecasts for 2022 as a result of increased demand. The airport however noted that continued macro-economic uncertainty, including inflationary pressures on costs and passenger demand for the winter season, may impact its forecasts.
Eurozone business activity is down for the second month in a row according to a widely watched survey of purchasing managers by S&P Global. It said that growth in the service sector ground to a near-halt as cost of living pressures sapped demand, leaving activity only just inside growth territory, while manufacturing remained in a downturn.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the CBI's Industrial Trends Survey found that manufacturing output fell in the three months to August and is expected to remain broadly flat over the coming quarter.
SPORT
Football... Alfredo Morelos has been left out of the Rangers squad for tomorrows Champions League play-off second leg against PSV Eindhoven. He was reportedly left out of the side because of concerns about his fitness and attitude. He was sent off during last weekend's match against Hibernian.
Cricket... Joe Root has said that England captain Ben Stokes was "brave" for speaking about his struggles with his mental health. In a new documentary, Stokes reveals he feared he might not play cricket again when he took a break from the sport in the summer of 2021. Root told BBC Sport that "it's quite powerful for people to see sometimes it's OK not to be OK".
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