National News
French President in televised interview - In a televised interview on French television on Tuesday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will maintain the country’s centrist caretaker government until the end of the Olympic Games in mid-August to avoid disorder, dismissing an effort by a leftwing alliance to name a prime minister. Macron said the current caretaker government would “handle current affairs during the Olympics”, which end on 11th August. There is no firm timeline for when Macron must name a new prime minister. The parliamentary elections left the national assembly with no dominant political bloc in power for the first time in France’s modern republic. Macron, who has a presidential mandate until 2027, has the ultimate say in who will be appointed as prime minister. However, the prime minister would need the support of a majority of lawmakers to avoid a no-confidence vote.
American rapper Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic torch - In other news, American rapper Snoop Dogg is to carry the Olympic torch through the final stages when it passes through Paris before the opening ceremony on Friday. As reported by some media Snoop Dogg will no doubt “be hoping that he won’t Drop It Like It’s Hot when he holds the torch in Saint-Denis to mark the start of the 33rd Games”. The rapper is in the French capital as a special correspondent for the US TV network NBC. Snoop Dogg, who has more than 20 million followers on X, also wrote: “U gots to do it!! Will u be watchin?? #FollowTheDogg #ParisOlympics.”
Local
Prince Albert and Princess Charlene visit collection of Olympic torches ahead of attending the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday – Meanwhile, ahead of attending the opening ceremony in Paris on Friday, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco have visited the Prince’s very own personal collection of up to 40 Olympic torches currently on display at the Grimaldi Forum. Carrying a universal message of peace since its establishment during the Amsterdam Summer Games in 1928. It was not until 1936, in Berlin, that a relay carrying a torch to the host country was established. Before expanding to the Winter Olympics in Oslo in 1952. The exhibition offers a perfect journey through time, entrance is free and it is on until August 18th.
Tackling overtourism - In a move to tackle overtourism a small island off the north coast of Brittany has imposed a summer tourist quota. The move hopes to ensure visitors have a more enjoyable experience and that its 400-odd permanent residents do not feel swamped. The island’s mayor Olivier Carré said that from this week until the 23rd of August, the number of people allowed on to the Ile-de-Bréhat, excluding local people, second homeowners and workers, between 8.30am and 2.30pm must not exceed 4,700. Steps to deal with overtourism such as regulate visitor numbers of tourist taxes for example have already been implemented in cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and even natural beauty sites such as the Calanques outside of Marseille.
Swimming bans introduced on several stretches of our region’s coastline - Meanwhile the summer season here in our region has been hit with several swimming bans on beaches in both the Var and the Alpes Maritimes due to the quality of the water. After a swimming ban on several beaches in the Var reported on Monday, the situation on the beaches of the Alpes-Maritimes appears to be not much better. In Cannes, on the boulevard de La Croisette, the quality of the water is considered "sufficient" for swimming but is however, not the best compared to the rest of the beaches in the city where the level ranges from good to excellent. In Vallauris, all the beaches in the town are also orange, indicating "sufficient" water quality for swimming, but not the best. In Antibes, on the west side of the Cap, swimming is not prohibited but the water quality is considered insufficient. Meanwhile on the east side, the level is sufficient for swimming, but is not considered "good". In Villeneuve-Loubet, there is a ban on swimming in the Marina. In Saint-Laurent-du-Var, swimming is also prohibited along the promenade, up to Cap3000. In Nice, the water quality remains good to excellent on almost the entire Promenade des Anglais, except towards the port end where the water quality is considered insufficient, but swimming remains authorized. In Villefranche-sur-Mer, at the Darse beach, the water quality is "sufficient" for swimming, just like that of Passable in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Finally, in Menton, according to the latest data swimming is prohibited in Gorbio.
Tribute - In other news, a ceremony in tribute to those who died last Thursday in an arson attack on an apartment in the Moulins neighbourhood of Nice is to be held this Saturday afternoon at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice. The fire left no chance for seven people from the same family on the top floor of the building to survive. The tribute organised by the city council and the victim’s relatives hopes to bring peace in the memory of those who lost their lives and give support of the three survivors of the fatal blaze.
Water supplies disrupted in the Var - Supplies of tap water in and around Draguigan in the Var have been disrupted. The water supply network was interrupted for several hours on Tuesday due to and electrical breakdown which impacted two drinking water production plants in the region. Homes located in Taradeau, Lorgues, Saint-Antonin, and Vidauban experienced problems with their supplies. Authorities announced that they have since found a temporary solution by deploying generators but have requested that residents in the affected area restrict their use of water.
French President will not be spending a long summer holiday in the Var – According to reports there will be no “long holiday” for French President Emmanuel Macron at Fort Brégançon this summer. Accustomed to staying three weeks in the Var each summer, the President of the Republic is only expected for a few days after the Olympic Games in time to attend the 80th anniversary of the Landing of Provence. Since his election in 2017, Macron has been a regular to Fort Brégançon along with his family and as with former President attends the commemoration of the liberation of Bormes-les-Mimosas on August 17th.
Glamour in Saint-Tropez for charity – Finally, a glamorous charity event at the Golf Club in Saint-Tropez has attracted many an a list celebrity, from actresses Kate Hudson, Kate Beckinsale and Emma Roberts to pop star Camila Cabello. The fundraising event chose the exceptional location raising money for NGO’s supporting child protection, biodiversity and the preservation of the planet’s natural resources. The evening even included live performances from Kaleo, Julian Perretta and Kylie Minogue ahead of the auction. Among the items going under the hammer, a work signed by David LaChapelle and a Rolex watch that belonged to Elvis Presley.
Business
Electric car maker Rivian Automotive is set to go on trial over allegations that it encouraged its employees who defected from Elon Musk's Tesla to steal trade secrets, according to a tentative ruling issued by a California judge. The legal battle began in 2020. A final hearing is set for today Wednesday 24th July.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has become the biggest name yet in the tech world to throw his weight behind the former president Donald Trump, endorsing him and getting involved in fundraising efforts.
An investigation into Delta Airlines has been opened in the US as the company struggles to recover from last week's global IT outage. The Transport Secretary said Delta must provide passengers with refunds and other compensation for disrupted travel as required by law. A day earlier, Delta, which has cancelled more than 5,000 flights since Friday, signalled it could take several more days for operations to return to normal. CrowdStrike said it was working on ways to make it easier and faster to fix the issue, which downed an estimated 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices globally, hitting airlines, health systems and other services. In many cases, IT teams had to reboot computers manually. Delta, which appears to have had more difficulty recovering than other airlines, said that its crew-staffing system had been affected by the incident.
And - A report in the UK has found that people phoning the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) collectively spent more than 753 years waiting for calls to be answered in 2023/24. The wait time applied to more than 40 million calls made - although more than six million of these were abandoned. More than 20 million people in the UK rely on pensions or benefits from the DWP and some £7.3bn spent on running the department.
Sport
Olympic Games – Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin has pulled out of the Paris 2024 Olympics after a video emerged showing her "making an error of judgement". Dujardin six-time dressage medallist said she was under investigation from the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) and would "withdraw from all competition while this process takes place". Dujardin said the video was "filmed four years ago" and she was "devastated to have let everyone down". Media outlets have not seen the video in question and it is currently unclear what the nature of the investigation is.
Meanwhile Andy Murray has confirmed he will retire from tennis after the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 37-year-old is planning to play in the singles and doubles at what will be his fifth Games. Team GB has named a squad of 327 athletes and UK Sport has set a target of 50 to 70 medals at the Games.
The Games open on Friday, 26 July with the opening ceremony starting at 7.30pm French time. The Games are on until Sunday, 11 August, although some of the sporting action starts today Wednesday, 24 July with group games getting under way in Football and rugby sevens.
In the men’s sevens, the hosts France captained by Antoine Dupont will face the United States at 4.30pm French time. Antoine Zeghdar the first Azuréen to start the Olympics, this Wednesday, against the United States and native of Monaco, former Stade Niçois and RCT player, will also report present at the Stade de France.
Then at 9pm this evening French time France’s men’s football team coached by Thierry Henry take on the US in their opening group game in Marseille. The US men have not appeared at an Olympics since 2008 and have not won a medal since 1904.
Team GB do not play men's football at the Olympics and there is no GB men’s sevens team at Paris 2024 as they failed to qualify.
Tomorrow’s action Thursday 25th July will see the women’s football group stage begin. GB did not qualify via England as the nominated home nation and neither did Sweden. Defending champions Canada begin against New Zealand with a 5pm kick off and hosts France play Colombia at 9pm French time.
And the men’s sevens, a day before the opening ceremony, will see New Zealand play Ireland at 4.30pm in the day’s final pool game.
Football - Determined to drive down costs at Old Trafford Manchester United are in the process of telling staff whether they are at risk of redundancy or not, with the club’s new ownership looking to cut current staffing levels from over 1,100 by around 250. Although more than that number are deemed at risk, not all of those affected will lose their jobs. The team leave today for a three-match tour of the United States and those staff expecting to be part of the club’s tour whose job is under threat were told last week they would not be travelling. United have refused to comment.
Cricket - Fast bowler for England Jofra Archer says he wants to play in the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia as he plans his return to Test cricket. Archer has not featured in the longer format since February 2021 having been hampered by back and elbow injuries over the last three years.
Weather
Sunny with some cloudy patches to start. Highs of 29 degrees in Nice, Monaco, Saint-Tropez and Mougins, with a gentle breeze in the Alpes Maritimes and strong winds in the Var. This evening going down to 22 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for Thursday and Friday, fine and sunny with light winds across the region and highs of 30 degrees.
Sunrise 06.11am
Sunset 09.01pm
Beach weather
Saint-Tropez sea temperature 25°
Air temperature 32 degrees
UV level 9
Weather elsewhere
Bordeaux 29° partly cloudy.
Palma 31° sunny.
Dublin 20° light rain.
Eric Ciotti, leader of Les Républicains, has expressed cautious support for new Prime Minister Michel Barnier if his policies align with law and order...
Read More
France has a new Prime Minister, after 51 days of waiting right-wing politician Michel Barnier was appointed Prime Minister on Thursday. ...
Read More
Michel Barnier has been announced as the new French Prime Minister, tasked with forming a unity government. Barnier, a veteran politician and former B...
Read More
The announcement of France's new Prime Minister is expected before 1 p.m. today, with Michel Barnier emerging as a leading candidate. Bernard Cazeneuv...
Read More
Marseille has been hit by heavy rain with businesses in the old port of the city flooded on Wednesday afternoon. Shopkeepers found themselves taken b...
Read More
