French and Riviera News Friday 8th February 2019

Local

Brexit - A decree has been approved by the French government as part of preparations for a no-deal Brexit. As part of five decrees published one dedicated to the rights of Britons living in France has so far outlined the following.

Britons living in France will have one year to get a non-EU citizen carte de séjour, or residence permit during which, the rights of British nationals will be maintained.

As far as healthcare is concerned the decree, ensures that Britons living in France will continue to receive the same healthcare coverage for two years after Britain leaves the EU. This includes conditions that take into account periods of insurance or employment in the United Kingdom.

For benefits British nationals who receive the Revenu de solidarité active (RSA) social welfare aimed at helping those on low wages - will continue to do so for one year after Britain leave the European Union and finally for Britons working in France they will have to inform their employers as soon as they receive their first residence permit issued after the UK leaves the EU which allows them to continue working.

All of the rights mentioned rely on the condition of reciprocity, meaning that the UK must offer French citizens living in Britain the same protection. 

Motorist drives into restaurant terrace - A motorist has driven into the terrace of a restaurant outside Nice Etoile shopping centre in Nice. The incident occurred on Thursday morning after the woman mistakenly put her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake. Customers who were sitting at tables in front of the restaurant managed to avoid the vehicle as it drove into the terrace. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile in Toulon a drunk driver has damaged several parked cars in a residential area of the city. Significant damage was caused in the incident which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning. The driver reportedly abandoned his car in the middle of the road before fleeing on foot.

Strike action at ski resort - Unions at Isola 2000 have threatened to block ski pistes in the resort during the school holidays which start today. Seasonal workers are protesting against working conditions demanding an increase in salaries. According to reports Isola's employees receive 20% less than Auron's and for the last four years have been forced to contribute financially for accommodation. Talks were held on Thursday between the Mayor of Isola and unions in an attempt to reach an agreement as strike action during the winter holidays would indeed represent a real economic disaster.

Flight diverted - A Norwegian Air Shuttle flight from Stockholm to Nice was diverted on Thursday morning because of a bomb threat. Reports say that the aeroplane took off from Stockholm at 9.45 on Thursday morning but was forced to turn around after an hour in the air. Police inspected the aircraft and passengers were held at the airport for questioning.  The telephone call in which the bomb threat was received was reportedly made from Oslo.

Motorway - The A8 motorway was partially closed at lunchtime on Thursday after a vehicle caught fire.  A heavy goods vehicle loaded with aluminium caught fire between junction 56, Monaco and Junction 55 on the westbound carriageway.  The A500 tunnel was also closed in the direction from Monaco to Nice.

Paraglider - Paraglider Benoît Outters has set himself the challenge of paragliding from Salzburg to Monaco. The challenge is due to take place in June and will see 32 selected paragliders participate over eleven days. Outters completed the flight in 2017 coming 2nd.

Nice Côte d’Azur Airport - The Nice Côte d’Azur airport’s summer programme has shown its continuous international expansion, in the Eastern European, Russian, Middle Eastern and North American regions. Throughout the summer of 2019, Nice Côte d’Azur will offer 120 regular destinations, 96 of which are international.

National

Italy - A diplomatic row between France and Italy has deepened, with France complaining of "unfounded attacks and outlandish claims" by Italian leaders. France recalled its ambassador to Italy for talks on Thursday, saying the situation was "unprecedented" since the end of World War Two. It comes after Italian Deputy Prime Minister met French "yellow-vest" protesters near Paris on Tuesday. France warned him not to interfere in the country's politics.

Paris fire suspect – It has been reported that the main suspect in the Paris fire which killed 10 people was released from psychiatric care just a week before. The eight-storey building was set ablaze - apparently deliberately - in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to prosecutors the suspect had been placed in psychiatric care 13 times in the past decade.

National Debate - French President Emmanuel Macron has continued his “National Debate” meeting with a thousand young people in Burgundy on Thursday afternoon. Macron called for “commitment” during the four-and-a-half hour debate which heard students protest about the high cost of studies, difficulties in entering the work market, worries about the future of agriculture, the nuclear industry and the referendum. Macron was accompanied by Education Ministers Jean-Michel Blanquer as both defended the decisions and reforms which have been implemented since his arrival at the Elysee Palace.

Business

Shares in the micro-blogging site Twitter have fallen by 10 percent after the firm’s revenue forecast fell short of expectations.

Twitter said that revenue for the first quarter is now expected to be between 715 million and 775 million dollars-below Wall Street forecasts.

The firm also said that operating costs could increase by 20 percent this year.

The fall in the firm’s shares came despite a doubling of profits for the fourth quarter to 255 million dollars.

Rising costs at Twitter come as social media firms are being forced to put more money into policing the content of their sites more closely following scandals over mental health,user privacy,hate speech  and political campaigning.

A US bankruptcy court has approved a controversial rescue takeover for the troubled retailer Sears.

The plan could keep more than 400 stores open and save up to 45 thousand jobs.

The proposal by the billionaire Eddie Lampert was the only one on the table but some creditors had urged the judge to reject it.

They say that Mr Lampert,who is the firm’s chairman and former chief executive,had no viable business plan and that more money could be recovered if Sears was liquidated.

Despite the court’s approval for the takeover,Sears is still facing massive problems and further store closures as well as cost reductions may be necessary to make the chain viable.

And-The Bank of England  has issued its worst UK growth forecast since 2009 when the economy was in recession.

The Bank has forecast growth of 1.2 percent this year down from its previous forecast of 1.7 percent.

It said that it had seen further evidence that businesses were being cautious as Brexit approaches citing a decline in business investment as well as a decline in housebuilding and a halving of the growth rate in exports.

The Bank also said that there was a one in four chance of the economy slipping into recession in the second half of the year.

Sport

Rugby Union-The second round of the 6 Nations Championship is being played this weekend with Scotland against Ireland and Italy against Wales tomorrow and England against France on Sunday.

Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has made 5 changes to the side that lost to England on the opening weekend for the game against Scotland at Murrayfield while Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has replaced Blair Kinghorn with Sean Maitland on the wing despite the fact that he scored 3 tries in the opening game against Italy.

The Wales coach Warren Gatland has made 10 changes to the side that beat France last week for the game against Italy in Rome  with centre Jonathan Davies named as captain for the first time in place of Alun Wyn Jones who drops to the bench.

England coach Eddie Jones will name his side for the France game at Twickenham on  Sunday later today with Joe Launchbury expected to replace the injured Maro Itoje at lock.

Football-In the English Premier League this weekend.

On Saturday Fulham play Manchester United in the lunchtime game and then its Crystal Palace against West Ham.Huddersfield against Arsenal.Liverpool play Bournemouth.Southampton face Cardiff.Watford play Everton and Brighton host Burnley.

On Sunday Spurs play Leicester and Manchester City play Chelsea.Wolves play Newcastle on Monday.

Formula 1-Haas are the first team to unveil images of their new car ahead of the season  with the VF-19 set to make its debut in pre-season testing on the 18th of February.

Haas have set themselves the target of improving on their 5th placed finish in the championship last season.The two drivers are Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean who both have confidence of a good season to come.

Cricket-England’s Jos Buttler says that there are still “places up for grabs” in the Test side following comprehensive defeats in the opening two Tests against West Indies in the Caribbean.

Buttler  said that there are opportunities for players who can “make a stand” and pencil their names in for the Ashes squad in the summer.

The England coach Trevor Bayliss had wanted to end the tour of West Indies with a settled top order but that seems to be far from the case.

Weather

Hazy sunshine with light variable  winds.

Top temperature 14 degrees.

Overnight lows of 7 degrees on the coast and 3 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.

The weekend-Fine tomorrow with a high of 14 degrees.Clouding over on Sunday with some rain during the afternoon and a high of 12.

 

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