News
Italian biker suffers heart attack while on holiday - An Italian biker on a trip to La Colmiane in the hinterland of Nice has died from a sudden heart attack. The 71-year-old man was with a group of bikers when he fell ill on Thursday shortly after 1.30pm. The Puget-Théniers gendarmerie is in charge of the investigation.
Weather warning - Ten departments in the south-west of France have been placed on an orange weather alert with thunderstorms forecast. The warning is in place from 4 p.m this afternoon and concerns the Haute-Garonne, Gers, Landes, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn and Tarn-et-Garonne . Violent gusts of up to 100/120 km / h, are expected. The storms should finally subside in the middle of the night as they progress towards the Massif Central,
Increased security at Stade de France - After the chaos at the Stade de France on Saturday during the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, French authorities have put in place an important security device for the League of Nations match between France and Denmark this evening. 2,080 police and gendarmes, including 656 dedicated to the fight against crime around the Stade de France, will be mobilized on Friday to ensure security.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has called for changes in security measures in the capital following the events surrounding the Champions League final at the Stade de France last weekend. She said that she felt "shame" for France, the region and the city which will be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games.
School of the future - President Macron visited Marseille on Thursday Along with recently appointed Education Minister Pap Ndiaye, he visited a school which has been trialling a new system known as "school of the future". President Macron said that he wishes the programme to become widespread in the next few months. He also announced that from the autumn elementary school students will undertake thirty minutes of sport per day. He also announced the return of maths on an optional basis in the premiere year.
Blood donations - The Var Prefecture has said that reserves of blood are currently low and has called on people to donate. Locations where blood can be donated are available on www.sante.fr
Business
Tesla has announced a reduction of 10% of the workforce. In a letter sent on Thursday to the executives of the company, Elon Musk said that Tesla must take a “pause in recruitments everywhere in the world” and reduce its workforce by around 10%. In recent years, Tesla's workforce has grown in proportion to the company's investments. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of Tesla employees rose from 48,000 to 93,000. Tesla made a record profit in 2021 of $5.5 billion. But like all companies in the automotive sector, it faces supply problems. During the presentation of its financial results, Tesla also warned that logistical challenges could persist throughout the year.
The general manager of the carpooling company Blablacar, Nicolas Brusson, has said that 2022 is expected to be a record year. Compared to 2019, Blablacar's activity and revenue growth in Europe is of the order of "+20/+25%, particularly in France and Spain, which are the biggest drivers of growth and revenue". Faced with high fuel prices, more and more French people are turning to BlaBlaCar on a daily basis.
According to a study by PAP Vacances, reservations for holiday accommodation are on the rise on the Mediterranean coast and are in sharp decline on the Atlantic coast. After last summer's rainy weather, the French are betting on safe bets for their summer holidays: according to a study by the PAP Vacances platform based on its own booking requests, the latter rose by 30.6% on the Côte d'Azur compared to 2019, by 20.3% in Corsica and by 7.5% in Languedoc. Apart from the Dordogne, all the destinations which recorded the strongest growth are located in the South-East: Vaucluse (+51.6%), Var (+39.2%), Ardèche (+37.8%), Drôme ( +24%), Bouches-du-Rhône (+22.5%). We also find the Hautes-Alpes (+ 20.5%).
Sport
Tennis - Rafael Nadal will aim to reach a 14th French Open final on his 36th birthday on Friday - although it remains to be seen whether it could be his last.The 21-time Grand Slam champion - a record 13-time winner in Paris - meets German third seed Alexander Zverev for a place in Sunday's showpiece.
Cricket - England's new era under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum got off to a chaotic start as 17 wickets fell on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's. New Zealand were bowled out for 132, only for England to slump to 116-7 in reply. For as brilliant as England were with the ball and in the field, they were as poor with the bat as they have been in a run that has seen them win only one of their past 17 Tests. Still, England were in strong positions at 59-0 and 92-2, only to lose five wickets for eight runs.
Weather
Mainly cloudy some sunny spells later in the day. Highs of 26 degrees along the coast. This evening going down to 18 degrees with clear skies. The weekend sunny intervals highs of between 26-28 degrees.
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
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Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
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Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
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French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
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France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
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