National News
French police hunt for suspects following fire in Nice - Police in Nice are hunting for three arson suspects after a fire in an apartment building killed seven people in the early hours of Thursday morning. The dead included three children aged five, seven and 10 years old and a 17-year-old who tried to escape by jumping from a window. The fire broke out in an apartment block located in the Moulins neighbourhood, known as a drug-dealing hub, in the west of Nice. At the scene on Thursday French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told reporters that “what happened was absolutely awful and revolting,” adding that “the investigation is ongoing”. The deputy mayor of Nice Anthony Borré added that surveillance footage showed three men wearing balaclavas in the vicinity. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he shared Nice’s emotion after the fire, posting on social media that his thoughts were “with the loved ones of those who died”. The blaze probably started on the building’s second floor and spread through the staircase to higher floors. Rescuers said three people were taken to hospital including one with life-threatening injuries after jumping from a window. Twenty people were evacuated to a temporary shelter, Nice’s mayor, Christian Estrosi, announced that a crisis unit would be set up to help anyone affected by the fire.
Knife attack on the Champs-Elysées – A police officer is in a critical condition following a knife attack on rue Vernet in Paris near the Champs-Elysee. The attacker has since died from his injuries. The incident occurred on Thursday evening, no terrorist motivation has been confirmed at this stage, nor any link to the upcoming Olympic Games. However, a criminal investigation into attempted murder of a police officer has been opened. According to reports police were alerted by shop assistants of an individual “possibly armed with a knife”. Upon arriving at the scene and setting up a security perimeter the man fled, before being pursued by officers and pulling out a knife against one of the officers stabbing him in the neck.
French police arrest individual suspected of plotting attacks at Paris Olympics – Meanwhile, French police have arrested a right-wing sympathiser in eastern France suspected of plotting attacks to take place during the Paris Olympics. France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin congratulated officers who arrested the individual on Wednesday, posting on X “we will continue our constant fight for the security of the French people”.
French President gives warning over illegal migration - French President Emmanuel Macron has warned UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer that France is not willing to shoulder the additional burden of illegal migration. Macron’s warning comes as Keir Starmer at a European summit on Thursday announced that the UK is looking into plans to process asylum seekers outside of the UK, as part of a rethink of the country’s immigration policies.
Mountain guide dies in Mont-Blanc massif - A mountain guide has died in the Mont-Blanc massif after being hit by a falling rock. The incident occurred at around 7am when the guide from Switzerland was on the route leading to the Aiguille d’Argentière. Rescuers from the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie intervened the man in his thirties did not survive his injuries.
Local News
Forest fire - A forest fire has broken out at Pin Rolland near La Seyne sur mer in the Var. Helicopters and water bomber planes were deployed on Thursday at around 6pm. The blaze was put out after destroying 2,500m² of forest land. The first elements suggest that the fire was of criminal origin. An investigation is underway.
Woman nearly drowns in Sainte-Maxime - A 62-year-old woman has nearly drowned while swimming in the sea at Sainte-Maxime in the Var. Emergency services intervened at around 2pm on Thursday afternoon after lifeguards spotted the victim in distress. She was taken to the Bonnet hospital centre in Fréjus for medical treatment.
Apartments evacuated - Seven apartments in Saint- Tropez have had to be evacuated on Thursday afternoon after a ceiling started to collapse. Those evacuated have been relocated to a hotel in the town. The incident is thought to have been linked to water damage. No injuries were reported and the art gallery on the ground floor of the building has remained open to the public. An expert is expected on site today to assess the situation and exact cause.
Tour de France - The Tour de France arrives in the Alpes-Maritimes today Friday 19th July. The stage promises to be short but intense covering three mountain passes at more than 2000m, from la Bonette to Isola 2000. The arrival is expected at 4.40pm this afternoon.
Challenge - Meanwhile, a hotel in Villefranche-sur-Mer has created a crazy challenge in the run up to the Tour de France arriving in the Alpes Maritimes and that is to complete the distance of the Grande Boucle i.e. 3,492 km on an indoor bike. Customers and staff have been invited to take part at the Régence-chez Betty hotel. To date 1,326 kilometres still need to be completed ahead of the arrival in Nice on Sunday. Nearly 267 people have taken part in the challenge so far, from tourists to locals. Money raised from the challenge will go towards buying bicycles for the local nursery school.
Billionaire ranking – Finally, the fortune of the 500 richest French people exceeds 1,200 billion euros for the first time, according to the annual ranking of Challenges magazine. Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, still sits at the top of the podium with 190 billion euros. The Hermès family comes second, with 155 billion, an increase of 17 billion euros, ahead the heirs of Chanel, with 115 billion. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, with 84 billion euros comes 4th and remains the richest French woman in a ranking largely dominated by men. At the same time, the number of billionaires has increased to 147 in 2024, compared to 141 in 2023 and 67 ten years ago. The minimum fortune to be among the 500 richest French people is now 245 million euros, compared to 235 last year and 80 in 2014.
Business
Netflix has added more than eight million subscribers in the three months to June, helped by the new season of Bridgerton and new drama Baby Reindeer. The gain was almost double what investors had predicted. Netflix is still however looking into new areas, such as sports, live events and gaming. But for now, the streaming giant remains the leader to beat for the industry. The gains last quarter brought its total number of subscribers to more than 277 million globally.
In the UK, Pret A Manger has announced that it is to scrap its popular five coffees a day subscription deal but is also cutting prices of several products. The current club offer has been running since 2020. In March, the chain implemented a crackdown to prevent Club Pret subscribers from sharing free drinks. Some customers were exploiting loopholes by sharing subscription benefits.
And - One of the UK's largest plastic surgery providers has collapsed. The Skin Group has more than 70 branches across the UK. In a message to customers, it said all the brands had "ceased trading". Its website displayed a note saying the company had "undertaken an extensive process to secure investment to enable it to continue trading but sadly had been unsuccessful". Clients still awaiting test results will be contacted as soon as possible, it added.
Sport
Football – Fans of Marseille football club have raged against the signing of Mason Greenwood branding the move 'disgusting' and 'immoral'. The French club completed the signing of 22 year old Greenwood, from Manchester United on Thursday for £27million plus £3.2m in add-ons. However, Greenwood was charged with attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour in October 2022, the charges and case were dropped in February 2023 when key witnesses withdrew. The forward has denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Lamine Yamal’s agent has reportedly requested an immediate pay increase for the teenager from Barcelona. The 17-year-old became one of Europe's most famous teenagers with his astonishing performances as Spain won the Euro 2024.
Cycling - Belgium's Victor Campenaerts has clinched a victory on stage 18 of the 2024 Tour de France. The race concludes with two more mountain stages and then an individual time trial on Sunday
Cricket - Ollie Pope’s sparkling century led England to 416 on a hectic first day of the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge.
Weather
Fine and sunny. Highs of 29 degrees in Nice and Monaco. Reaching 37 degrees inland. Clouding over by this afternoon and clearing again by early evening. This evening going down to 22 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for Saturday, fine and sunny along the coast with a risk of thunderstorms inland and highs of 30 degrees. Sunday, with the arrival of the Tour de France the weather looks set to be fine and sunny with highs of between 28 and 31 degrees from Menton to Nice.
Sunrise 06.06am
Sunset 09.06pm
Beach weather forecast
Sea temperature in Monaco – 25 degrees.
Air temperature 29
UV level 9
Weather elsewhere
London 30° sunny.
Paris 33° sunny.
Dublin 23° sunny intervals.
The Alpes-Maritimes department is tackling "ghost fishing nets," abandoned plastic nets that harm marine ecosystems. ...
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The French government has claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu has immunity from arrest warrants which have been issued by the international criminal court...
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A criminal network that cloned payment cards to steal "hundreds of thousands of euros" from trucking companies across France, including the Côte d’Azu...
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The CGT has released a map detailing nearly 200,000 jobs threatened across France due to layoffs and industrial restructuring since September 2023, wi...
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The A8 motorway was temporarily closed at the La Barque toll plaza toward Nice due to a vehicle driving the wrong way near Aix-en-Provence....
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