French and Riviera News Friday 7th July 2023

News

Man saved from nearly drowning - Lifeguards along with a group of young beach goers have rescued a 70-year-old man after he nearly drowned off the coast in Antibes. The incident occurred late on Thursday afternoon, when the group of young people spotted the man in difficulty not far from the beach. Recovered by the lifeguards the swimmer was taken to the Fontonne hospital centre. Lifeguards have reminded beach goers to respect the colour of the flag before swimming in the sea and to stay close to first aid stations.

Anniversary - The details of this year's events in Nice to mark the anniversary of the attack of 14 July 2016 have been announced. They include a parade in the evening on the Promenade des Anglais and a concert at the Theatre de Verdure. 86 light beams will be shone in memory of those who lost their lives.

Road accident - Two people have been injured in a road accident on the A8 motorway in the Var on Thursday. The collision, between a car and a heavy goods vehicle occurred at around 3pm at the level of Cannet-des-Maures eastbound. Emergency services intervened and both individuals were taken to hospital, the cause of the crash remains to be determined.

Festival cancelled - A festival in Nice has been cancelled due to the number of cigarette ends thrown by spectators. Held at the Domaine de Bellet, the electro "Face" evening of July 14th will not be taking place due to the number of cigarette butts found in a fire risk area, following a previous event. Organisers say that cigarette ends were found everywhere and anywhere despite ashtrays being made available.

New bridges - Three new bridges to replace those destroyed in Storm Alex have been inaugurated. Local elected officials were present for the ceremony, including president of the Alpes-Maritimes departmental council Charles Ange Ginésy.

Heatwave - Hot weather is expected to set in today Friday 7th July, across France with high temperatures which could continue, at least until Monday and even into next week. According to Météo France, a heat wave will raise temperatures in the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes due to a depression on the Atlantic which will bring warm air up over France. Météo France predicts that the 30°C mark will be largely exceeded in France today, July 7th reaching between 29 and 31 degrees in Toulon, as in Nice. But the worst is yet to come. On Saturday, Météo France predicts peaks of 37°C in Provence. On the Var coast, it will be between 30 and 31 degrees and 33 degrees inland. In the Alpes-Maritimes, the maximum temperatures will be between 29 and 31 degrees. On Sunday, however, the temperature will continue to rise reaching 35 degrees in Draguignan and Gonfaron, in the Var and 33 on the coast, near Saint-Tropez. In the Alpes-Maritimes, 34 degrees in Puget-Théniers, and between 30 and 32°C by the sea. In the Rhône valley and Provence, it’s expected to reach 37 to 38 in places.

Business

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will join NATO leaders in Lithuania on Tuesday to remind an alliance focused on Ukraine to pay heed to Chinese and Russian activity in Asia, which Japan sees as a threat to global security. It’s the Prime Minister’s second visit to a North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathering, along with the leaders of South Korea, Australia and New Zealand and comes as Japan doubles defence spending to deter Chinese and Russian forces in the waters and skies around Japan.

Twitter is considering legal action against Meta over its fast-growing rival app Threads. Threads is similar to Twitter and has been pitched by Meta bosses as a "friendly" alternative. Twitter's Elon Musk said "competition is fine, cheating is not" - but Meta denied claims in a legal letter that ex-Twitter staff helped create Threads. More than 30 million people have signed up for the new app, according to Meta.

In the UK several days of strike action on the London Underground have been announced from 23 July amid a continuing row over pay.  The RMT union said different grades and sections of the Tube would be affected between Sunday 23 July and Friday 28 July. The union has been in a long running dispute with Transport for London (TfL) over jobs, cuts and "attacks on pensions and working conditions".

Sport

Tennis – Murray and Tsitsipas will resume a captivating contest today after having had to stop due to an 11pm curfew on Thursday, due to restrictions put in place by the local council. Andy Murray is ranked 40th but showed his pedigree to lead 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

Football - Granit Xhaka has left Arsenal to join German side Bayer Leverkusen in a 25m euro (£21.4m) deal. The Switzerland midfielder, 30, has signed a five-year deal with the Bundesliga club.

Cricket – On day one of the five-day test series. England trail Australia by 195 runs with 7 wickets remaining.

Formula One - Lewis Hamilton says he still has "100% faith" in Mercedes despite their continuing struggles this season. Hamilton said Mercedes had the next step in their upgrade programme to be introduced at this weekend's British Grand Prix, where a record 480,000 spectators are expected from today through until Sunday.

Weather

Sunny with a moderate breeze. Highs of 29 degrees along the coast in Monaco and Nice. 28 degrees in Saint-Paul de Vence. 30 degrees in Saint-Tropez. This evening going down to 21 degrees with clear skies.

The outlook for the weekend, remaining fine with highs of 27 degrees in the Var and 30 degrees in the Alpes Maritimes.

Sunrise       05.55am

Sunset        09.14pm

Beach Weather  

Nice – Sea temperature 25 degrees. Air temperature 28 degrees. UV level 10.

Saint-Tropez – Sea temperature 24 degrees. Air temperature 29 degrees UV level 10.

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