Demonstrations have been taking place across France as part of a national day of industrial action. In our region demonstrations included those on the Place Massena in Nice and in Toulon in the area of the Boulevard de Strasbourg. Protestors are demonstrating against increases in the cost of living, particularly energy prices, job insecurity, the recent change in levels of unemployment insurance and also pension reforms.
Industrial action has been affecting many services, including schools and public transport. In Nice, tram lines 1, 2, and 3 are closed all day. The public transport service for people with reduced mobility, Mobil'Azur has also not operated today. Ligne d'Azur say that although some bus lines are operating normally, many others are disrupted. You can get more information on www.lignesdazur.com
An Italian shepherd lost his life near Tende during yesterday's storms. Reports say that the 48 year old man died on the Col de Tende on the Italian side of the border. It's believed that he may have lost his footing and fallen several metres.
The Monaco government has released details of recent Covid-19 tests. 3,828 PCR and antigen tests were carried out on resident and non-resident individuals between 27 Sepember and 3 October inclusive. The positivity rate was 0.6%. The incidence rate over the seven days was 31.29 per 100,000 people, which is down slightly from the previous week's 33.9.
The Pefect of the Alpes-Maritimes has alerted residents and visitors to dangerously high waves on the coast today which could be from 1.5 to 2 meters high with gusts of wind reaching 70 km per hour. The prefecture said that swimming is strongly discouraged in exposed areas as it is potentially dangerous. In the Var, the prefecture has advised people to take care when traveling and near waterways after yesterday's torrential rain. Several minor roads in the department were still closed earlier today because of flooding.
President Macron has held a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Elysees said that they had held a long meeting and had discussed issues of common interest. The meeting comes after the recent diplomatic row concerning the cancellation of a French submarine contract with Australia.
BUSINESS
The UK new car market has recorded its weakest September since 1998 according to figures published today by industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Just over 215,000 cars were registered in the month, which is a 34.4% fall on September 2020. The ongoing shortage of semiconductors continued to affect vehicle availability. However, battery electric vehicles recorded the best monthly performance ever, with 32,721 new registrations.
UK food retailer Greggs has said that in it's third quarter two-year like-for-like sales in company-managed shops rose by 3.5 per cent when compared with the same period in 2019, despite disruption to staffing and supply chains. In a trading update today Greggs said that it hasn't been immune to the well-publicised pressures on staffing and supply chains and has seen some disruption to the availability of labour and the supply of ingredients and products in recent months. It said that food input inflation pressures are also increasing and it expects costs to increase towards the end of 2021 and into 2022.
SPORT
Football...James Ward-Prowse has replaced Kalvin Phillips in the England squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers. Phillips is out because of an injury suffered during his club Leeds' match against Watford at the weekend.
Cricket... Sam Curran has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup because of an injury to his back. Curran's brother Tom has been called into the squad as a replacement and he in turn has been replaced on the reserve list by Reece Topley.
Cycling... It's been announced that next year's Tour of Britain will start in Aberdeen and end on the Isle of Wight. Eight stages will take place in Nottinghamshire. The Tour runs from 4-11 September 2022.
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