Evening Update Wednesday 27th March 2024

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has asked for national police reinforcements to help bring the Les Moulins housing estate under control. There was more violence in Les Moulins yesterday afternoon, when a mass fight broke out involving about 40 hooded young people. An 18-year-old was injured and taken to Pasteur 2 hospital under police escort. Another four people were injured in clashes with police yesterday evening. CRS riot police from Marseille have been drafted in to patrol the neighbourhood in recent days. Christian Estrosi had a phone call with France's interior minister yesterday. He says more police reinforcements have been promised. According to the Alpes-Maritimes préfecture, more than 400 targeted police operations have been carried out in Les Moulins in the past year, leading to the arrests of more than 900 people and the seizure of 30 kilos of drugs and more than €140,000 in cash.

There have been reinforced police patrols outside schools in the Alpes-Maritimes this morning, after yesterday's coordinated campaign of hoax bomb alerts. The Alpes-Maritimes préfecture ordered the increased police presence on a case-by-case basis, with the directors of each school having the final say on whether it is needed.

It's taken nearly two months but authorities in Nice think they've finally tracked down the source of an unpleasant smell that's been plaguing residents in the north and east of the city. Since early February, there have been regular and numerous reports of a foul odour in the air, described by some as similar to rotten eggs or burnt tyres. Som