The deputy Mayor of Nice has been outlining the cities transport plans in the run up to the opening of a brand new train station and bus exchange at Nice St-Agustin this Thursday. M Gaël Nofri assured residents of the city that the tunnel being constructed under the Voie Mathis would be open within two years and also that line four of the tram, extending to Cagnes-sur-mer, will be delivered by 2026.
New figures show the number of children testing positive for Covid 19 is dropping. Last week only 3 children under nine were positive, while in the upper school range between 10 and 19 years old, 30 children and teenagers were test positive. The low numbers, and a dramatic fall in overall Covid numbers after the summer, means children can return to school this year without the need to wear a mask.
The summer of 2022 has been the hottest in France since 2003 according to Meteo France. They also confirmed this summer saw the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country, which was at Nantes on July 18th, when the mercury hit 42 degrees. While the Cote d’Azur has endured over 60 tropical nights, with overnight temperatures not dropping below 20 degrees, Marseilles has had 113 days where the temperature exceed 25 degrees. The national statistics service INSEE says this global warming will continue. While twenty years ago, France might have expected a maximum 16 abnormally hot days a year, INSEE say the future will experience 16 to 29 abnormally hot days annually.
The French government is considering a new scheme where people could lease an electric car for just €100 per month. At the moment, there is a €6,000 grant for buying a new electric vehicle but prices are high. EV’s account for 12% of car sales in France compared to over 60% in Nordic countries. The scheme to rent an EV would help alleviate spiralling energy costs and combat climate change.
The tower on the St-Honorat Monastery, on the Lerins Islands off the coast of Cannes, could be getting a fresh injection of funding to complete urgent restoration work. Prince Albert of Monaco was one of the first donors to help restore the tower, which was originally built in 1073. This time, funds will come from a special public lottery called the ‘Loto du Patrimoine’ which runs in conjunction with this years European Heritage Day on Sept 17th.
BUSINESS
Markets are pretty stagnant today as investors take a breather ahead of the next round of what will likely be gloomy inflation data. They’re also juggling concerns about the energy crisis across Europe, a looming recession and more rate hikes. After a round of selling yesterday, triggered by the hawkish remarks of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, most major markets have regained no more than one percent today.
Elon Musk has sent an a second letter of ‘deal termination’ to Twitter after he subpoenaed a whistleblower seeking documents on how the social media company measures spam accounts. Musk has been trying to walk away from a $44-billion offer for Twitter in July, saying the company misled him about the number of spam accounts on the platform.
SPORT
Football - Manchester United have reached agreement to sign Brazil winger Antony from Ajax. The deal is for an initial fee of 95 million euros, making it the fourth most expensive signing in Premier League history. During his two seasons with Ajax, Antony scored 24 goals and provided 22 assists in 82 appearances.
Tennis - At the US Open today, some big games are expected as Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu and Cameron Norrie all play their first round matches this evening at Flushing Meadows NY. Coverage of the tournament can be seen in France on Eurosport television.
Rugby - The Monaco Rugby 7s have won consecutive titles, beating Section Paloise Béarn Pyrénées during their final in Pau. Monaco have reached the final in each of their three tournaments this season, winning the last two at La Rochelle and now in Pau. The team are now ranked amongst the favourites to win the grand final in Paris on 19th November.
Gloucester have signed Zach Mercer from Montpellier for the 2023 Premiership season. The 25-year-old made 21 starts for the French champions in the Top 14 last season and will play out the rest of his contract there before joining the Cherry and Whites.
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
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Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
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Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
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French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
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France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
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