Evening Update Tuesday 27 September 2022

A fire has broken out on board a nuclear submarine in Toulon. Authorities said that the fire has been extinguished and there is no radioactive risk. The blaze broke out on the Perle submarine yesterday. The vessel is under construction at French navy facilities. The fire was attended by firefighters from Marseille as well as from the naval base itself. It was declared extinguished at just after 9pm last night. It's the second time a fire has broken out on the submarine. It suffered serious damage in a fire in June 2020.

Several French unions are calling for a day of industrial action this Thursday, the 29th of September. Union members are protesting at the reduction in purchasing power, pension reform and employee rights. Public transport is expected to be affected. The circulation of TER\ZOU! trains is likely to be disrupted from this Wednesday, September 28 at 7 p.m. to Friday, September 30, at 8 a.m. SNCF will publish timetables for the affected days at 5pm on the previous evening. You can find information at local train stations, on the SNCF TER SUD website and by using the SNCF app as well as on Twitter @TERSUD_SNCF

The Var prefecture has said that the fight against so-called urban rodeos is continuing in the department. From September 19 to 25, 889 people were controlled in 57 operations. 182 offences were detected and 5 machines were seized.

AS Monaco is launching a unique eco-designed and recyclable ball featuring its logo on the occasion of European Sustainable Development Week. The club is participating alongside 19 French professional clubs, in the Rebond project. The club said that it's the very first recyclable football made from vegetable and recycled materials. Profits made by AS Monaco from sales of the new ball will be donated to the Oceanographic Institute – Fondation Albert 1er, Prince de Monaco. Each ball sold will thereby contribute to the preservation of the oceans and protection of marine flora and fauna.

 

BUSINESS

The head of airline Virgin Atlantic has suggested that the UK government should consider reversing some of the policies it announced last week which have caused volatility in some financial markets. Shai Weiss said that UK Prime Minister Liz Truss should take what he called a difficult decision to reverse the fall in sterling.

Meanwhile, Germany's finance minister Christian Lindner has said that in the UK "a major experiment is starting as the state simultaneously puts its foot on the gas while the central bank steps on the brakes".

However, UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has once again defended the government's policies. Speaking to city investors earlier today he said that it was "committed to fiscal discipline" and that the UK's tax burden was "unsustainable".

 

SPORT

Motorsports...  Zhou Guanyu will stay with the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team for a second season in 2023. Team principal Frederic Vasseur said the Chinese driver had impressed with his work ethic in his debut year in Formula 1 and that "the way he adapted to Formula 1 in a short time has been one of the best surprises of our season".

 

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