French and Riviera News 10th December 2021

News 

Minimum service during strike action from bin collectors in Marseille – Local officials of Aix-Marseille have asked for a minimum service to be maintained following strike action from the city's bin collectors. In a press conference on Thursday officials threatened the intervention of police officers should the situation "not improve with at least a minimum service during negotiations".

Tunnel reopen completely - From this morning Friday 10th December, the Liautaud tunnel in Nice is to reopen. Closed following an incident during works being carried out some sections had been reopened with the tunnel completely reopened from 6am today. The closure had caused major traffic jams during rush hour.

Chemists to open on Sunday for vaccinations - France's minister of health Olivier Veran has announced that pharmacists "who wish" will now be able to open every Sunday in December and January to vaccinate against Covid-19.

IKEA - IKEA have announced the official opening date of their new store in Nice saying that the 24,000 square metre facility will open on the 11th of May next year. And Megarama, one of France's largest cinema chains, has announced it will open its brand-new multiplex, just north of Riquier, this Saturday December 11th. Located on Avenue François Mitterrand the cinema will show the latest movies, including House of Gucci and Stephen Spielberg's newly released version of West Side Story in French and 'original version' English.

Relations between France and Britain strained - During a press conference at the Elysée, in which France was presenting its plans for its presidency of the council of the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron has said that relations between France and Britain are strained because the UK government does not honour its word. Macron accused London of failing to keep its word on Brexit and fishing licenses, but said France was willing to re-engage in good faith and called for "British re-engagement" over the "humanitarian question" of dangerous Channel crossings. The head of State added "I love Great Britain; I love its people. I have an overwhelming desire to have a government that wants to work with us in good faith".

New 1/2 euro coins – Meanwhile France's Secretary of State for European Affairs Clément Beaune has announced that a new €2 coin would soon be minted by France and put into circulation, to mark France's Presidency of the EU council which will start on January 1st for six months. A new €1 coin, which will feature the same design, will also be published. According to the Monnaie de Paris, 30 million new €2 coins will be put into circulation as of January 1, 2022.

Business

A crisis at the world's most indebted company has worsened after news it had missed a crucial repayment deadline. Chinese property giant Evergrande, whose liabilities exceed $300bn (£228bn), failed to meet interest payments to international investors.

Less than a month before the French presidency of the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron has estimated that the 27 members will not succeed in the climate and digital transitions "if the EU returns to a budgetary framework that was created in the early 1990s". Speaking on Thursday Macron said that Europe needed to define together what the Europe of 2030 will be, adding that he wanted to "build a new European model of growth" focused on the "construction of industrial sectors" of the future such as "hydrogen, batteries, semiconductors, the cloud, defense, health and culture".

France's presidential candidate Eric Zemmour has announced that he wants to expand profit sharing for companies in France to those with at least 11 employees, compared to the current 50. He also proposes that it be exempt from taxation.

Sport

Football - Tottenham's Premier League match at Brighton on Sunday has been postponed following a number of positive Covid-19 cases among Spurs' players and staff.

Formula One - Max Verstappen says he is treated differently from other drivers when it comes to the rules on fair racing. His comments raise the stakes at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, where Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will race to decide this year's Formula 1 title.

Golf - Tiger Woods will make his comeback playing alongside son Charlie at the PNC Championship in Florida next week. The 36-hole PNC Championship sees a field of major champions playing alongside their children or parents. The 15-time major champion has not played competitive golf since sustaining serious injuries in a car crash in February.

Weather 

Light rain and sunny intervals in the Alpes Maritimes. Strong winds and rain in the Var. Highs of 11 degrees in Nice, Cannes and Antibes. This evening going down to 3 degrees with clear skies.

Outlook for the weekend - Sunny highs of 13-14 degrees.

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