Evening Update Wednesday 6 September 2023

A man believed to be a former soldier barricaded himself in his home on boulevard de Riquier in Nice this afternoon. He was alone in his home at the time. RAID officers, an elite unit of the National Police, attended the scene and the man was arrested.

Five people have been injured, one of them seriously, in a road accident in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin this morning. Four vehicles were involved in the collision on the avenue Robert Schuman.

A man in his thirties has drowned in Antibes this morning. Firefighters could not save the man who is believed to be from Spain.

A new French ambassador to Monaco has been accredited. His Excellency M. Jean d'Haussonville presented his Letters of Credence to HSH Prince Albert II.

Eight tonnes of waste has been collected from the sea by municipal cleaning agents in Nice in the past three months. Mayor Christian Estrosi said that the haul was composed of 70% plants and wood, 30% plastics.

Electricity company EDF has said that it plans to temporarily reduce production at two nuclear power plants because of the heatwave. The plants are in the Isere and Ain departments and both draw cooling water from the Rhone river.

Six people have been arrested after pouring orange paint on a street in Paris. The location is close to the Ministry of the Interior and the Elysees. The protest was made by a group claiming that the French government is not doing enough to deal with climate change.

The mayor of the hamlet of Haut-Vernet in the Alpes de Haute Provence has introduced a new order banning access to people who do not have a residence there. The hamlet was the scene of the disappearance of two and a half year old Emile in early July. The new order has been made to ensure the privacy of local residents. Investigations into the disappearance are still continuing.

Further details of the visit to France by King Charles and Queen Camilla have been announced. The visit will take place from 20 to 22 September. The Elysees said that there will be a state dinner at the Palace of Versailles. A meeting will be held between King Charles and President Macron and there will be a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.

The Princess of Monaco Cup, the charity golf tournament organized by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, is taking place today. Nineteen teams were competing this morning at the Monte Carlo Golf Club. A temporary golf course is being set up in Casino Square this evening from 6pm where players will be able to make the symbolic shot of the 19th hole.

A police dog from the Var has been awarded a special distinction. Since April 2021, four year old Kenzo has helped gendarmes seize more than 350 kg of cannabis, 5 kg of heroin, 1 kg of cocaine, 1,600 rounds of ammunition and 1.2 million euros. The award was made on the occasion of the 20th anniversary ceremony of the Cuers Dog Investigation Group, the first unit of its kind to have been created  in France. The ceremony highlighted the essential work of dog handlers and their dogs for the safety of the citizens of the Var.

 

BUSINESS

The company that operates the UK's air traffic services, Nats, has said that the system failure which caused chaos in UK flights last month had never happened before. Martin Rolfe, chief executive of Nats, said that the system did "what it was designed to do, i.e. fail safely when it receives data that it can't process". He described it as "a one in 15 million flight plan that we received" and said that it was the first time this had happened in the five years the software had been operating.

Incoming orders in the German manufacturing sector fell by 11.7% in July compared to June. The German government statistics office Destatis said that orders were down by 10.5% on the same month of the previous year.

 

SPORT

Rugby Union... Yoram Moefana has been named at inside centre for France in their opening World Cup game against New Zealand on Friday. He'll wear the number 12 shirt in the absence of Jonathan Danty who is injured.

Football... The UK Professional Footballers' Association and the Premier League have launched a new brain health fund. Certain professional footballers who have suffered brain injuries will be able to apply for financial assistance. The PFA will make an initial £1 million available.

 

 

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