French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced that the curfew in France will be completely lifted as from this coming Sunday, June 20. The general requirement to wear a mask outdoors will be lifted tomorrow, 17 June, and prefectural decrees regarding mask wearing will be amended. He said that compusory mask wearing will still be required in "closed places" such as in "gatherings, crowded places, queues, markets, etc."
Speaking after the Council of Ministers meeting today, the Prime Minister said that "the health situation is improving faster than we had hoped" and such low levels of virus circulation have not been seen since last August. He added that the pressure on hospitals has dropped. He said that the government aims to have 35 million people fully vaccinated by the end of August.
The driver of a truck has been taken into police custody after an accident in Mandelieu-la-Napoule this morning. Reports say that the truck hit 14 cars on the roundabout at the exit of the A8 motorway. Traffic was disrupted after the incident which happened at about 8.30am. Despite the large number of vehicles involved, only four people suffered slight injuries.
The town hall in Antibes Juan-les-Pins has said that only concerts and Marching Bands offered by the City of Antibes will be organized for the Fete de la Musique this year because of health restrictions put in place by central government. No other amateur or professional concerts will be authorized or organized or allowed to be improvised on the public highway.
Many departments in the west of France are under a Meteo France orange alert for high temperatures and storms. Locally, Meteo France have a yellow weather warning for storms in the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes until 9pm this evening. The storms are expected to be in inland areas, with sunny intervals on the coast.
Two shuttle bus services in Cannes will be back in service for the summer season. As from next Monday, the 21st June, the BoccaCabana and Moure Rouge mini-bus shuttles will be helping locals and tourists alike to travel around Cannes free of charge. You can get details of the routes and timetables at https://www.palmbus.fr/fr/fiches-horaires/79/navettes-estivales/181
BUSINESS
Inflation in the UK rose during May according to the latest report from the Office for National Statistics. The Consumer Prices Index, which includes owner occupiers’ housing costs, rose by 2.1% in the 12 months to May, up from 1.6% to April. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 0.5% in May, the largest contribution coming from the price of clothing, motor fuel, recreational goods and meals and drinks consumed outside the home.
A new report has shown a large increase in the use of mobile phones and smart watches to make payments in the UK. Nearly a third of the adult population were registered to use mobile payments by the end of 2020, an increase of 7.4 million people compared to 2019 according to trade body UK Finance. 2020 saw the number of cash payments made in the UK fall by 35 per cent, meaning that cash was used for just 17 per cent all payments.
SPORT
Euro 2020...Wales beat Turkey 2-0 in today's early evening match. Aaron Ramsey put Wales ahead late in the first half and Connor Roberts scored the second in added time. This evening, also in Group A, Italy play Switzerland. This afternoon it was Finland against Russia in Group B. The final score was Finland 0 - Russia 1.
Football... Premier League fixtures for next season have been announced. The opening day matches include Manchester City against Spurs and Liverpool against Norwich, Manchester United host Leeds, while Champions League winners Chelsea will host Crystal Palace. Newly promoted Brentford will play Arsenal in their first top-flight game since the 1946-47 season. The Premier League season begins on 14 August.
Tennis...Andy Murray and Venus Williams have been given wildcards to play at this year's Wimbledon. They are both former Wimbledon title holders with Murray having won the mens single tournament in 2013 and 2016 and Williams being a five time singles winner.
A 20-year-o
