President Macron has delivered an address on French television this evening. He said that a campaign to offer a booster vaccination to those aged 50 to 64 would start in early December. As from 15 December it will be necessary for people over 65 to show that they have received a booster shot in order to continue to be eligible to use a health pass. He said that there remain 6 million people in France who are unvaccinated and he called upon them to get vaccinated. Other topics addressed by the President included the relaunch of France's nuclear power plant construction programme for the first time in several decades in order to guarantee France's "energy independence". As regards pension reform, he said that the pension system should be reformed but that now was not the time to do this but "clear decisions" should be taken next year.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the knife attack on police officers in Cannes yesterday morning. The three are reportedly a family member, an employee of the alleged attacker and a person who housed him. He is in hospital but his life is not thought to be in danger and he is expected to be questioned by police in due course. The public prosecutor in Grasse has opened an investigation for attempted assasination of national police officials.
US Vice-President Kamala Harris has arrived in Paris for a five day visit. Further discussions are expected to take place aimed at improving diplomatic relations between France and the US in the wake of the row regarding the cancellation of an Australian submarine contract.
Meteo France have weather warnings in place for the Alpes-Maritimes. There's a yellow warning for heavy rain and flooding from 6am until at least 4pm tomorrow, Wednesday. There's also a yellow flood warning for the "moyen" part of the Var river which is currently in force and is in place until at least 4pm tomorrow. Full details of the warnings can be found on www.meteofrance.com
The municipal council in Menton has appointed a new mayor. Yves Juhel received the most votes during a council meeting earlier today. He replaces long-serving mayor Jean-Claude Guibal who passed away unexpectedly last month.
Two people have received prison sentences and fines for looting a house damaged by Storm Alex. Alpes-Maritimes gendarmes stopped a car on suspicion of motoring offences but found items in the car which had been stolen from a house in Lantosque.
The Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes has advised against swimming today due to large waves. The Prefect said that the entire coast of the Alpes-Maritimes is subject to the high swell, particularly the Cap d'Antibes.
The Var Prefecture has said that state departmental services receiving the public will be exceptionally closed on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 November. These include the Toulon prefecture and the sub-prefectures of Brignoles and Draguignan.
BUSINESS
Fashion retailer Primark has announced plans to open new stores in the US, France, Italy and Spain. Primark currently has 398 stores in 14 countries and said that it expects the number of stores to rise to about 530 over the next five years. In its 2021 annual results released today its parent company Associated British Foods said that like-for-like sales at Primark were down 12% on pre-pandemic levels. CEO George Weston said that Primark "delivered a good performance in the face of continued disruption to trading caused by the pandemic" and that improved profits are expected in the next financial year, although the possibility of further trading restrictions cannot be ruled out.
Engineering company Rolls-Royce has announced financial backing for the manufacture of small modular nuclear reactors in the UK. A single power station will occupy around one tenth of the size of a conventional nuclear generation site and power approximately one million homes. Rolls-Royce said that when fully operational its Small Modular Reactor business is forecast to create 40,000 regional UK jobs by 2050 and generate £52bn in economic benefit.
SPORT
Rugby Union... Joe Marler will miss England's match against Australia on Saturday after testing positive for Covid-19. He will now isolate for 10 days. Lateral flow tests on other England players and staff were negative and the results of PCR tests are awaited.
Football... West Ham player Angelo Ogbonna has suffered a knee injury meaning that his availability is currently unknown. He'll see a consultant later this week and more details will then be known about his recovery time. Ogbonna sustained the injury during the match against Liverpool at the weekend during which he also sustained an eye injury.
Golf... It's been annouced that the European Tour will become the DP World Tour from the start of the 2022 season. It will feature 47 tournaments in 27 countries, including new events in the United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Africa and Belgium and will have a total prize fund in excess of $200 millon.
France is considering a "taxe lapin” or “rabbit tax" to fine people who cancel medical appointments without warning. The proposal aims to hold patient...
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Due to high murkiness caused by recent storms, several municipalities in the Pays de Fayence continue to face tap water restrictions. ...
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A recent report published by the Court of Auditors has highlighted the underestimated risk of flooding on the Cote d’Azur, particularly criticizing th...
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Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, has said he is open to compensating Villefranche-sur-Mer’s businesses if they suffer losses due to the cruise ship ba...
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On Monday, two skiing accidents occurred in our regions ski resorts.
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