Meteó France say an Orange Weather Alert for heatwave in the Vaucluse and Bouches-du- Rhône could extend into the Var and Alpes-Maritimes over the weekend. A warm air mass is sweeping over the entire country and could spread as far north as Paris, where temperatures exceeding 30d are expected at Olympic events including the marathon and closing ceremony on Sunday evening.
Firefighters are battling a blaze at an electric transformer station in the Var. 12 engines are on the scene at Vinon-sur-Verdon north of Aix-en-Provence. The situation is complicated by 44 tons of oil, kept as a reserve at the station, which provides high voltage electricity to the area. The fire which broke out in the early morning is being brought under control.
French wheat farmers say this year’s harvest could be one of the worst in years. France is one of the largest producers in Europe of soft wheat, typically used to make bread and cakes. Excessive rain and bad weather since last autumn have affected the crop which sources say could be the worst since 1983. The Ministry of Agriculture is due to publish provisional estimates later today for the 2024 harvest.
A man from Nice has been arrested by Menton customs officers for carrying 194 cartons of cigarettes into France. The maximum allowance is four cartons. The cigarettes, being carried in four large suitcases, was discovered during a control at the La Turbie payage. The man admitted the offence and will be sentenced later.
A new version of the Carte Vitale is being made available in the Alpes-Maritimes. It will now be available as a smartphone app. This digital version will facilitate contactless transactions with doctors and pharmacies, lowering the risk of infections connected to handling physical cards. Assurance Maladie say the e-Carte Vitale will link you directly to your patient details, social security rights and reimbursement claims. In the future it’s planned the app will also integrate with your top-up mutuelle.
Police in Nice report a slight rise in fines being issued to tourists for not wearing t-shirts while walking through the city centre. They say many tourists are not aware of the rule, but when informed 95% will put a t-shirt back on. The remaining 5%, who take exception to the rule, are fined €35. So far this season, 15 fines have been issued.
Monaco is getting ready to celebrate its Olympic success with a spectacular fireworks and drone show tonight. It will honour principality athelites including Marie-Charlotte Gastaud who scored a personal best in 100m, rower Quentin Antognelli who clinched victory in the D final of the single sculls and rising judo star Marvin Gadeau who faced a challenging bout against Cuban Andy Granda. The fireworks spectacular including an incredible 12-minute light show with 800 drones kicks off at 10pm in Port Hercule.
BUSINESS
Asian shares are ending a rough week on a high, as Japanese stocks are close to recouping all of the huge losses from Monday. Japan's Nikkei rose another 1.7% today, erasing most of the 13% crash on Monday finishing with a weekly drop of just 1.5%.
In the US, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 each ended yesterday more than 2% higher, after jobless claims fell more than expected, soothing worries the labour market was weakening too quickly.
Donald Trump has said he would want a say over decisions made by the Federal Reserve when he is President. It’s the most explicit indication so far, of his interest in infringing on the central bank's independence should he regain the White House.
SPORT
No change in the Olympics medal table as the USA continue to lead with over 100 medals, far ahead of China in second place with 73. Also in the Top 5 are France in fourth place and Great Britain in fifth.
Hungary's Kristof Ras-ovszky has won the men's 10km marathon swimming gold, holding off German silver medallist Oliver Klemet in a gruelling slog along the final length of the River Seine this morning.
The President of the Nice Azur Boxing Club, where controversial Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has been training, has spoken out about the gender identity row surrounding her. Tony Vivarelli said he found Imane to be a kind lady, very calm and a fighter at all levels. He said she was born a woman, she has a woman's passport and the IOC supports her, so questions on her gender are incomprehensible.
Imane Khelif will fight for gold tonight against China’s Yang Liu. The final kicks off in Roland Garros at 10.50pm
Also tonight, France are going for Olympic Gold in the football final against Spain. France have conceded just one goal and remain unbeaten throughout the tournament, while Spain has lost once in a 2-1 defeat to Egypt in the group stage. If Thierry Henry's team win this evening, it will be France’s first football Gold since 1984. The game kicks off in Parc des Princes at 6pm.
Noah Lyles dream of become the first man since Usain Bolt to win double gold in the mens sprint events, failed to materialize at the 200m final last night. Unknown to everyone Lyles had contracted Covid on Tuesday but refused to let it prevent him from racing. It had an effect though as the sprinter ended up coming in third and having to be helped off the track in wheelchair. The winner of the 200m mens final was Botswana’s Letsile Te-bogo surging past everyone to win gold at 19.46 seconds.
WEATHER
Sunny and hot today with highs of 30d but feeling more like 37 in Nice and over 40 in St Tropez.
Temperatures won’t drop too much overnight with lows this evening of 28d.
Over the weekend, it will continue hot and sunny with highs of 33d .
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