A large-scale police operation in the Ranguin district of Cannes has dismantled an entire network of drug traffickers operating on a departmental scale, according to the mayor of Cannes David Lisnard. He said that after an investigation lasting more than two months, five individuals were arrested and significant quantities of narcotics were seized. The mayor said that he saluted all the law enforcement forces involved and thanked the Public Prosecutor and the Commissioner.
French Education Minister Elisabeth Borne has reminded school principals that it is forbidden to allow law enforcement personnel access to students in school as part of deportation procedures. Her comments come after the questioning and removal of a girl from Bukino Faso in a school in the Moselle department in northern France. She was removed from the school and subsequently deported to Belgium along with members of her family. Teacher's unions and parent associations had protested at the removal.
Three people have been taken into custody suspected of involvement in a hold up at a petrol station in Marseille earlier this week. Cash was taken during the incident in the 15th arrondissement in the north of the city.
An investigation has been opened after the body of a man was discovered in the Durance river in Briancon in the Hautes-Alpes. The man in his forties had reportedly been admitted to a nearby care facility.
Convicted rapist Dominique Pelicot is reportedly to be questioned by authorities regarding two unsolved criminal cases. He is expected to be questioned tomorrow by the cold cases unit of a court in Nanterre. The two cases date from the 1990's.
Three departments in north-west France are under rare Meteo France red warnings for flooding. They are the Morbihan, Loire-Atlantique and Ille-et-Vilaine. Six other departments in the north-west are under orange warnings.
Six people have been detained by authorities on suspicion of involvement in the attempted kidnapping of a Youtube influencer. The men were arrested after a group of men broke into the former house of the parents of the influencer Inoxtag in the Yvelines department last November.
The campaign to distribute iodine tablets to residents of Toulon, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Ollioules and Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer is still ongoing in the 104 pharmacies participating in the operation. The four municipalities are located within the perimeter of the Special Intervention Plan of the military port of Toulon. In the event of a radioactive release into the environment, the prefect of Var may order the taking of stable iodine to protect the health of residents. The Var Prefecture said that individuals can collect their iodine tablets from pharmacies. Employers and managers of establishments open to the public must download a withdrawal voucher from the prefecture's website and go to one of the participating pharmacies. All the information on the campaign and the withdrawal voucher for employers can be found on the website www.ppitoulon.net
BUSINESS
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has said that rivals, including those in China, are using its work. It said companies were “constantly trying to distil the models of leading US AI companies” and that “it is critically important that we are working closely with the US government to best protect the most capable models”. DeepSeek, a Chinese app that has a similar performance to ChatGPT, apparently at a fraction of the cost, has recently emerged as a competitor to many US and European AI companies.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that the government is backing plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport. In a speech today outlining the government's plans to boost economic growth, she said that the runway is "badly needed" and could create 100,000 jobs. She also backed a range of other projects including redevelopment of Manchester United's Old Trafford ground and investment in the "Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor”.
The UK government is reportedly planning to subsidize loans for electric vehicles. According to a report in the Financial Times, ministers are drawing up plans to underwrite consumer loans for the vehicles in an effort to boost sales.
SPORT
Cricket… Steve Smith has achieved a total of 10,000 runs in Test cricket after going into bat during the first day of Australia's opening match in Sri Lanka. He's the 15th batter in the world to reach 10,000 Test runs and follows in the footsteps of fellow Australians Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.
Motorsports... Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari during pre-season testing. Hamilton was injured after losing control of the car at the circuit in Spain. The incident happened yesterday, during Hamilton's second day of running at the track, where he is sharing the car with team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Rugby Union…Toulouse player Romain Ntamack will make his first appearance for France for almost 18 months in their upcoming Six Nations opener against Wales. The match is set to take place on Friday at the Stade de France in Paris. Ntamack has been out of action because of injuries to his knee and calf.
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments have been placed on orange alert for heavy rain and flooding, with ongoing yellow alerts for thunderstorms. ...
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Police Commissioner Eric Arella led the traditional Police Department New Year Address on Wednesday morning, chaired by H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, w...
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A seabed cleanup operation began in Cagnes-sur-Mer on January 29, 2025, to remove debris from a former fish farm. ...
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An easyJet flight from Nice to Rennes on Sunday, January 26, was forced to turn back due to severe weather conditions caused by Storm Ivo. ...
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Expect heavy traffic around Nice this Thursday evening as OGC Nice faces Bodo Glimt in their final Europa League match at the Allianz Riviera....
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