Police have opened fire on a vehicle allegedly carrying illegal immigrants in the early hours of this morning. The van was pursued by police from close to the Italian border near Sospel all the way to the Moulins district of Nice. Police said that the vehicle was being driven at officers who then opened fire. Two people in the van were taken to hospital, one of whom is in a serious condition. Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice and President of the Metropole Nice Cote d'Azur said that "police and gendarmes were deliberately put in danger by criminals exploiting human misery" and assured police and gendarmes of his full support. He added that he deplored the injuries caused to two people in the van, but they are "the result of a criminal act which had to be stopped for the safety of our police and gendarmes and to avoid other tragedies".
Firefighters in the Bouches-du-Rhone have been involved in fighting another fire in undergrowth this afternoon. The blaze is next to the A7 motorway in the commune of Orgon near the border with the Vaucluse department. By mid-afternoon 5 hectares had been destroyed by the fire, no homes were threatened, and no casualties were reported. Firefighters advised motorists not to be distracted by the large plumes of smoke, not to slow down to watch the fire and to let emergency service vehicles pass.
Twenty one departments in the west of France have been placed on an orange level alert for high temperatures by Meteo France, along with the Ardeche and Drome departments in south central France. An orange alert is the third out of the four Meteo France alert levels. The organisation said that the peak of the heatwave is expected on Friday and Saturday.
President Macron has been in Romania and Moldova today. Several hundred French troops are stationed in the Romania as part of a NATO mission. The Elysees said that the visit would send a message of "clear commitment" to France's fellow members of NATO and the country's "European partners".
A new system to reduce waste in the packaging of take away meals has been introduced in Monaco. Instead of non-reusable containers, 25 partner points of sale will offer returnable glass containers of 4 different sizes. After use, the glass containers can be deposited within 14 days at 20 collection boxes across the Principality. The Monaco government is continuing its commitment to a policy of “Zero single-use plastic by 2030” by gradually eliminating single-use packaging.
BUSINESS
The European Central Bank has announced new measures to help member states with the rising costs of borrowing. After a surprise meeting today the central bank announced a series of measures, particulary aimied at southern European states such as Italy.
Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum has agreed a deal for 10 helium-filled hybrid aircraft with a UK company, Hybrid Air Vehicles. Air Nostrum’s reservation is for the 100-seat Airlander 10 aircraft, which is scheduled for delivery from 2026 onwards. HAV plans to launch production of the aircraft in Doncaster, South Yorkshire this year, with the fleet set for initial operations across Spain. The deal will create thousands of jobs in green aerospace technologies.
Train services in the UK are set to be severely affected by strike action. Network Rail said about half of all rail lines will be closed when thousands of workers walk out across the UK on 21, 23 and 25 June. The services which do run will start and finish earlier, from 07:30 to 18:30. There will be no trains at all in many places including north from Glasgow or Edinburgh and to Penzance in Cornwall. The timetable from 20 to 26 June is still being finalised, but the number of services are expected to be around 4,500 compared with 20,000 normally, according to Network Rail.
SPORT
Football... Top Spanish league La Liga has filed a complaint with Uefa against Manchester City and Paris St-Germain regarding alleged breaches of the Financial Fair Play rules. La Liga president Javier Tebas has repeatedly attacked the two clubs, which he describes as 'state clubs', and strongly criticised PSG over their new contract with star player Kylian Mbappe.
Cricket.... Joe Root has returned to the top of the men's Test batting rankings after his fourth century so far this year. Root is now five points ahead of Australia's Marnus Labuschagne.
Cycling… Five-time Olympic gold medallist Laura Kenny has been included in the Team England squad for the Commonwealth Games. Matt Walls, who was the Omnium champion at Tokyo 2020, and Olympic silver medallist Ethan Hayter are also included.
A powerful Mistral storm has swept through Provence, with wind gusts exceeding 150 km/h in some areas. ...
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France’s recently appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou has promised a new government "before Christmas" and reserves the possibility of using 49....
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A four-day strike at DHL has caused delays in package processing, raising concerns about on-time deliveries for Christmas....
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French judges in Avignon will today Thursday 19th December, deliver their verdicts in a mass rape case against 51 men that has appalled France and the...
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Monaco Info and TV Monaco are set to make way for a new television channel on September 1st of 2025. During the debates on the 2025 preliminary budget...
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