The recent attacks against French prisons and prison officers continued last night. Vehicles were set on fire in front of the prison at Tarascon in the Bouches-du-Rhone. The French anti-terrorism prosecutor took charge of the attack, as well as taking charge of several others over the past two days. Local reports say that a prison officer at the Aix-Luynes prison was also targeted when a car was set on fire in front of his home. Minister of Justice Gerald Darmanin was in our region yesterday to show support for prison officers. In a social media post, Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said "the entire nation must stand in solidarity with these women and men who are under threat today. Those who attack prison officers deserve to be behind bars". He added that in Nice, as part of the cooperation agreement between the city and the government, "the Municipal Police and the Urban Supervision Center are fully mobilized alongside government services to ensure the safety of staff and law enforcement".
The Var and the Alpes-Maritimes are still under a Meteo France yellow warning for heavy rain and flooding until 10am tomorrow morning. A yellow warning is the second highest out of the four Meteo France warning levels. Several dozen children have been evacuated from a scout camp in the Alpes-Maritimes because of the bad weather. According to local reports, the children were staying at the camp in the village of Valderoure in the northern part of the department. Several supervisors also moved out of the camp to more secure premises.
Three railway unions are calling for industrial action from 5 May. The action may affect train services over the busy May 8 bank holiday weekend, which is traditionally a busy time on French roads and trains.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting France. He'll be in Paris until Friday to discuss the conflict in Ukraine. He'll be accompanied by US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Diplomatic tensions between the French and Algerian governments are continuing. After the Council of ministers meeting earlier today, government spokesperson Sophie Primas referred to recent events as an "escalation" and said they were "very regrettable". Yesterday, the French government recalled its ambassador from Algeria and expelled twelve Algerian diplomats. A few days ago, the Algerian government expelled twelve diplomats from the French embassy in Algiers.
The Flemanville nuclear power plant is due to start producing electricity after being shut down for several months. The plant, on the coast of Normandy, was closed in February due to technical issues. Electricity company EDF are expecting to be able to re-connect the plant to the electricity grid next week but it will take several weeks for the facility to reach its full output.
BUSINESS
UK inflation has fallen by a more than expected to 2.6% in March, according to data released by the Office for National statistics today. It was down from 2.8% in February. The inflation decrease was driven by a drop in petroleum prices and recreation and culture prices, with toys, games, and hobbies falling particularly sharply. The ONS said that "the only significant offset came from the price of clothes which rose strongly".
China has unexpectedly appointed a new trade envoy. Li Chenggann is a former assistant commerce minister and World Trade Organization ambassador. The new appointment comes during an escalating trade war between China and the United States.
SPORT
Rugby Union...It's been announced that New Zealand's Rieko Ioane will join Leinster for the 2025-26 season. Ioane is contracted to the Blues in New Zealand until 2027 but will take a sabbatical to join the Irish club on a seven-month contract.
Cycling...The person who spat on cyclist Mathieu van der Poel during last month's E3 Saxo Bank Classic has been fined, according to Belgian police. The East Flanders public prosecutor's office confirmed to BBC Sport that police had identified the culprit, who admitted spitting on Van der Poel. He'll have to pay a fine of up to 350 euros.
Football... A system malfunction led to the wrong anthem being played before Aston Villa's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris St-Germain. The Europa League anthem was played over the PA system as the players lined up at Villa Park yesterday, before it was switched for the Champions League anthem. The automated system responsible for playing the anthem reportedly crashed and was overridden by another system.
A British man has died in an avalanche in the Savoie department. According to local reports, the man in his twenties was on a road near the ski resort...
Read More
Senior US, European, and Ukrainian diplomats will meet again in London next week after what France called an "excellent" day of peace talks in Paris o...
Read More
Mainly fine with light winds and highs of 17 degrees in Nice and Saint-Tropez, 16 degrees in Monaco, 19 degrees in Toulon. This evening going down to ...
Read More
The French government has instructed local prefects across France to immediately reinforce surveillance and protection of prisons and their staff. The...
Read More
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised that those behind a wave of attacks on prisons and staff will be “found, tried, and punished,” calling t...
Read More
