Evening Update Wednesday 9 November 2022

French Health Minister Francois Braun has announced the implementation of the national health plan for exceptional situations in hospitals because of the epidemic of bronchiolitis. It means that health services will be able to call on additional resources. Earlier today Sante Publique France said that there has been a continued increase in bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age, despite a decline in connection with the All Saints holidays. It said that emergency room and hospitalizations for the condition are at levels higher than those observed at epidemic peaks for more than 10 years.

President Macron has announced that a UK France summit will be held early next year. Speaking during a visit to Toulon today he said that the summit will be held in the first quarter of 2023. The president also said that he wished to strengthen ties with Germany and outlined a new French strategy in Africa.

A national day of industrial action tomorrow will affect some train, bus and tram services in our region. As usual on a day of industrial action, disruption to train services is expected to start on the evening before the day of action. You can check specific trains on www.sncf.com  Today the SNCF said that the industrial action will only have a "moderate" effect on services. It expects an average of nine out of ten local TER services to operate, but that number will vary locally. It anticipates that all TGV services will run, with only slight disruption to inter- city services. No tram services will run in Nice tomorrow and bus services will be disrupted. A reminder that Friday the 11th of November is a public holiday in France and reduced services will be in place on public transport on Friday.

Trains along the coast in our region are subject to delays this evening because of an obstacle on the track at Eze. SNCF are saying that the situation is expected to gradually improve over the course of the evening.

Local elected officials paid tribute to General De Gaulle, , in Théoule-sur-Mer this morning, 52 years after his death. Nice mayor Christian Estrosi called for a renewal of loyalty to the pragmatism of the general and to his values, which the mayor said were inspired by "an ideal of social justice, glorious patriotism and universal republicanism".

The Nice Cote d'Azur Metropolis has launched its own carpooling app. Klaxit is available on the Apple App store and the Google Play store. The Metropolis is making a financial contribution. Journeys of less than 5 km are not being given aid but for eligible journeys whose distance is greater than or equal to 5 km, the aid is 10 cents per kilometre started. There are several conditions attached to the provision of the finacial aid. More details can be found on www.nicecotedazur.org

 

BUSINESS

Social media company Meta has announced that it will cut 13% of its workforce. It means 11,000 employees out of a worldwide workforce of 87,000 will lose their jobs. The company owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said a "macroeconomic downturn" and "increased competition" had caused revenue to be much lower than expected.

Online furniture retailer Made.com has gone into administration. Next is buying Made's brand name, website and intellectual property for £3.4m, although it will not be buying the remaining stock.

High street retailer Marks and Spencer has reported a 24% fall in profits for the first half of its year. It said that trading would become "more challenging" and the "combined impacts of the cost-of-living squeeze" and the increased cost of doing business were creating pressure on margins industry-wide.

 

SPORT

Cricket... Pakistan have reached the Men's T20 World Cup final after beating New Zealand by seven wickets. They will now play England or India who meet in the other semi-final tomorrow. The final is scheduled to take place on Sunday in Melbourne.

Football.... Real Madrid player Luka Modric has been included in Croatia's squad for the World Cup. It will be the fourth time he's played in the World Cup finals.

Rugby League... Australia have recalled Reagan Campbell-Gillard for Friday's World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. He has recently recovered from a leg injury and replaces Lindsay Collins in the squad.

 

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