News
Death of French actress being investigated - French police are investigating the apparent suicide of an actress who alleged she was sexually assaulted decades ago by French actor Gérard Depardieu. Emmanuelle Debever, who was 60, died in hospital on December 7th after she was found in the River Seine in Paris. Prosecutors said the cause of her death was being investigated due to "media reports" of complaints she made against the actor in 2019. There is no suggestion that any crime has been committed. About a week before her death, Debever disappeared from her home and left a note. On the day she died, France 2 television broadcast a documentary containing several claims against Depardieu of sexual misconduct.
Fire in residence building - A hundred people have been evacuated after a fire broke out in an apartment block in Saint-Laurent-du Var on Thursday evening. The blaze reportedly broke out in the basement of the building people were evacuated as a safety precaution. No casualties were reported and an investigation into the cause of the fire has been opened.
Missing boy found in France - A British boy who has not been seen by his legal guardian since he went missing on a family holiday to Spain in 2017 has been found in France. Alex Batty, from Oldham, was 11 and under the guardianship of his grandmother when he was allegedly abducted by his mother, and grandfather. Trying to head back to England the teenager explained to a motorist who had picked him up near Toulouse that he had been kidnapped by his mother in 2017 and had lived in a luxury house in Spain with around ten people as part of a “spiritual community” before moving to France in around 2021. Alex Batty explained that he had been hiking in nearby mountains for more than four days in an attempt to return to England.
Free lung screening - Nice university hospital is offering a free lung cancer screening for anyone in the area aged over 50. Nice CHU has become a leader in France in research and treatment of respiratory diseases. Every year, more than 50,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in France. Pasteur 2 hospital in Nice is one of only a handful of places in France offering lung cancer screening without charge. The appointment lasts about an hour and a half and includes a detailed health questionnaire, breath test and chest scan.
British Airways returns to Nice airport - British Airways has announced it's returning to Nice airport for the first time since the Covid pandemic. BA's subsidiary, CityFlyer, will operate a regular route from Nice to London Stansted from May next year. It'll fly twice a week, taking off from Nice at 11.20 on Saturday morning and 8.35 on Sunday morning.
Christmas swim - The Christmas bathing season is upon us and this Sunday December 17th, those of you who feel brave enough will meet at 10.30am in Nice to take part. The colourful traditional fishing boats will also be part of the event, for the 77th edition of the Christmas swim. Villeneuve Loubet will also be inviting people to gather from 9.30am on the Plage de la Fighière. In Antibes the Christmas swim is organised on January 1st at 11am on the Salis beach. Meanwhile here in Monaco the 2023 edition of the Christmas swim will take place on Sunday December 24th at 9:30 a.m. on Larvotto beach.
Sport
Football – In the Premier League this evening Nottingham Forest are at home to Tottenham. On Saturday, with a 4pm kick off, Bournemouth play Luton Town, Chelsea are at home to Sheffield, Manchester City face Crystal Palace, Newcastle play Fulham and Burney play Everton.
On Sunday Arsenal play Brighton, Brentford are at home to Aston Villa, West Ham play Wolves and Liverpool face Manchester United.
Rugby Union - Eddie Jones says he does not "feel any guilt" about becoming Japan's head coach, sux weeks after he resigned as Australia boss. The 61-year-old, who coached England from 2015-2022, was confirmed as the new Japan head coach on Wednesday.
Cricket - West Indies beat England by 10 runs in the second T20 in to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
Business
Mark Zukerberg has announced the arrival of Meta's social media app Threads in Europe. In a post on the platform on Thursday the boss, Zukerberg welcome new users from across Europe. Threads was released five months ago in other parts of the world and was described as the rival to Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter. Meta hopes to gain interest in the platform, more than 100 million users were counted in its frist week before starting to decline.
And – In the UK Ofcom has launched an investigation into TikTok over whether it provided inaccurate information about its parental controls. The UK media regulator requested details from the Chinese-owned app, as well as fellow online video platforms Twitch and Snapchat, for a report into how they protect children. While it was generally complimentary about the steps they take, Ofcom said it had "reason to believe" that TikTok provided "inaccurate" information about its family pairing system.
Weather
Cloudy to begin with, giving way to clear skies and sunshine with a gentle breeze. Highs of 16 degrees in Monaco, Nice and Antibes. 17 degrees in Saint-Tropez and Rayol Canadel. Moderate to strong winds in the Var this morning. This evening going down to 6 degrees with clear skies.
The weekend fine and sunny. Highs of 13 degrees along the coast in the Var and 15 degrees in Nice.
Sunrise 07.56am
Sunset 04.53pm
A powerful Mistral storm has swept through Provence, with wind gusts exceeding 150 km/h in some areas. ...
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France’s recently appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou has promised a new government "before Christmas" and reserves the possibility of using 49....
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A four-day strike at DHL has caused delays in package processing, raising concerns about on-time deliveries for Christmas....
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French judges in Avignon will today Thursday 19th December, deliver their verdicts in a mass rape case against 51 men that has appalled France and the...
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Monaco Info and TV Monaco are set to make way for a new television channel on September 1st of 2025. During the debates on the 2025 preliminary budget...
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