The French Federation of Insurers have estimated that 200 million euros worth of damage was caused by vandalism on the sidelines of the yellow vest protests. The organization calculated the figures up to and including the protests on the 16th of March.
The body of a man has been recovered in the gorge below the Pont de l'Artuby in the Var. It’s believed that the man may have fallen from the bridge, about 180 metres above the gorge, but the circumstances of the death are not yet known.
Firefighters are still trying to extinguish a forest fire which broke out last night in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence between Digne and Allos. This morning the fire was estimated to have destroyed about 80 hectares. Fighting the fire has been made more difficult by winds of 70 to 80km per hour. Over one hundred firefighters and three Canadiar water bombing aircraft have been involved in the operation. Meanwhile, it’s reported that pompiers in the Vaucluse department were called out to about 15 fires last night which had been fanned by gusts of up to 95 km per hour.
A main road in the west of Nice was closed to traffic this lunchtime because of a fire. Boulevard de la Madeleine was closed for a short period after a blaze at a nearby business.
The European Parliament has backed a proposal to stop the obligatory change to summer time in the EU. The proposal would give each member state a choice from 2021 – to either keep the current summer time system or scrap the twice-yearly time changes.
BUSINESS
Uber has announced that it’s buying Dubai-based rival Careem for $3.1bn. Careem was established in 2012, and operates in 15 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The firm will continue to operate under its own brand.
Samsung has said that its first-quarter profits will probably not meet market expectations. The company blamed slowing demand for display panels and falls in chip prices.
In the UK, the number of mortgages approved by the main high street banks in February 2019 was 2.2% lower than the same month in 2018, according to data from UK Finance. The data shows approvals for home buyers were up 1.5% but down 6.6% for re-mortgaging.
Ocado has signed an agreement with Australian supermarket Coles to develop its online business. The food home delivery service, which recently signed a deal with Marks & Spencer in the UK, will help Coles process online orders with its Customer Fulfilment Centres, which will be built in Melbourne and Sydney.
SPORT
Football… Uefa has charged Montenegro with racist behaviour following the abuse suffered by England players in their Euro 2020 qualifier on Monday. The match was overshadowed by racist chanting from some home fans directed at several England players, including Danny Rose. The case will be dealt with by Uefa on 16 May.
There are more Euro 2020 qualifying games tonight. The Republic of Ireland play Georgia in Group D while Norway play Sweden in Group F.
Tennis… The man who stabbed tennis champion Petra Kvitova in her home in the Czech Republic has been sentenced to eight years in jail, according to local media reports. The two-time Wimbledon champion suffered damage to ligaments and tendons in her playing hand and had to have surgery. She returned to playing five months later.
Winter Sports… Local skier Nastasia Noens has been crowned French champion of slalom. The skier, from Nice, took first place in the French slalom championships held yesterday in Auron.
Speed restrictions are in place on all major roads in the Alpes-Maritimes today because of a smog alert....
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A Marseille magistrate has been sentenced on the 17th of June in Nîmes for repeatedly avoiding motorway tolls using fake license plates. ...
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A major police stop-and-search operation along France's borders is being carried out today, involving 4,000 police officers, gendarmes and customs off...
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SFR has announced automatic compensation of 100GB of free mobile data for affected customers following a major network outage on the 16th of June....
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French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a high-level Security and Defence Council meeting at the Élysée Palace today Wednesday, June 18th at 4pm, ...
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