Castex in Nice-The French Prime Minister Jean Castex is to visit Nice in the coming days.
Mr Castex says that he will come with “concrete offers” of ways to increase public safety in high rise areas of the city that are rife with drugs and other crime.
The Prime Minister is responding to Monday’s serious incident in the Moulins district during which a gang of armed men is reported to have chased someone down the street before shooting him in the foot. A number of empty shell cases were found outside a local supermarket following the incident which Mr Castex has described as “completely unacceptable”.
As Mr Castex was speaking , another firearms incident was being reported in Grasse where two men were injured by gunshots near the quatre-chemin roundabout on Thursday afternoon.
One of those shot has been rushed to hospital in a serious condition.The other man sustained lighter wounds.
Meanwhile ,the French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin made a surprise visit to Nice on Thursday afternoon to discuss security issues with local officials.
Mr Darmanin visited the Moulins area before attending a meeting at the prefecture.
Later on Thursday ,he paid a visit to French border force officers in Menton.
Night train- The French Transport Minister has said that the Paris -Nice night train service is to resume within the next two years.
Jean-Baptiste Djebbari made the announcement as part of government plans to invest several billion euros in SNCF services.
The Paris -Nice night train was withdrawn from service in 2016 following a decision by former French President Francois Hollande much to the dismay of regular passengers.
Improving rail services is a key part of government transport policy as efforts are made reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental standards.
Nice arrest- A convicted Italian sex offender has been arrested in Nice after several years on the run.
The man who repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted his former partner at their home in Asti in front of their 5 year old daughter fled during his trial in 2016 and was convicted in absentia.
Italian police have not ceased in their efforts to find him and finally tracked him down to Nice where French officers arrested him on Thursday.
He’s now been returned to Italy to serve a 6 year jail sentence.
Detained- A 59 year old man who has appeared in court for threatening three young people with an axe has said that he’s glad that police arrested him “before he could do any damage”.
The man is also accused of threatening a paramedic with a knife.
He’s been detained in a psychiatric unit while reports are compiled and ahead of a full trial on August the 7th.
Beach closed- Police in Antibes have closed the Plage des Ondes owing to a sewage leak coming from a private waste pipe on the Avenue Marechal Juin.
Authorities moved to rapidly clear the beach on Thursday morning as soon as they became aware of the leak which has now been repaired.
Tests on the water are now being carried out and swimming should be allowed again from midday today , all being well.
False alert-A suspected fire at the municipal tip at Lorgues in the Var has turned out to be a false alarm.
17 firefighters rushed to the tip on the chemin des Girards on Thursday following reports of a fire.
On closer inspection ,it turned out that fumes were being produced from some blocks of chlorine which were being stored in a shed on the site.
Correction- We would like to correct a story concerning the 50 year old man who was severely injured in a tubing accident in the Bay of Villefranche on the 11th of July.
The man ,who was critically ill and placed in a coma got his thigh caught up in the propeller of the boat which he was tubing from and not a winch as we previously reported.
The man has now been brought out of a medically induced coma and happily looks like he’s on the road to recovery.
A judicial enquiry is being carried out to establish the exact cause of the accident.
Riviera Radio apologises for the error in the previous report.
In National News.
Covid-19- French health authorities have reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours including ten new clusters of the infection.
Public Health France says that infection rates are “increasing” and that there have been 3,589 cases of Covid-19 recorded over the past week- a 27 percent increase on the previous week.
The public is advised to self-isolate and get tested as soon as possible if any symptoms of coronavirus are experienced ,however mild.
There is a warning that people are not getting tested quickly enough following the onset of symptoms with some leaving it for up to a week before seeking medical advice.
30,182 people have died from Covid-19 in France since the start of the epidemic.
5,957 people are currently receiving hospital treatment with 436 in intensive care.
Severe cases requiring ventilation have increased by 83 over the past week.
Cathedral repairs-Repairs to Nantes Cathedral which was seriously damaged by fire last weekend will take around 3 years according to experts who’ve completed an inspection of the building.
Stained glass windows were blown out in the fire ,some art works were damaged and the historic 16th century organ was destroyed.
Tests for lead in the air are being carried out in order to make sure that local resident haven’t been exposed to any toxins.
The St Peter and St Paul Cathedral was constructed between 1435 and 1488 by the Duke of Brittany Francois II and is a protected French historic monument.
The building should be allowed to partially reopen within the next few weeks to allow religious services and limited public visits.
Renault accusation-A lawyer acting for the family of 4 children who were killed in a car accident on the A7 motorway in the Drome department on Monday night has said that the car manufacturer Renault will have to answer for the tragedy.
9 people including the five dead children were in the Renault Scenic when it burst into flames ,left the road and rolled over ,trapping the driver and passengers inside.
Initial reports suggested the brakes had failed but a technical expert who’s examined the wreckage now says that the vehicle’s turbo broke resulting in the fire.
The four survivors of the crash who include a 7 year child are being treated in hospital in Lyon for severe burns and other injuries.
The family’s lawyer says that human error has been ruled out as the cause of the accident and that Renault must face justice.
The 2005 model car had been due to undergo a controle technique in the spring but the legal requirement was pushed back to the autumn under a government approved delay owing to the coronavirus lockdown.
Business.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose for the first time in four weeks last week according to data published by the US Labor Department.
Figures show that claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 1.41 million for the week ending the 18th of July -an increase from 1.3 million the previous week.
The new data suggests that the Labor market is stalling again amid a resurgence in Covid-19 infections.
Cases of coronavirus have exploded across America in recent weeks prompting authorities from the Deep South to the West to shut down businesses again or pause reopenings.
Workers being sent home are now joining a second wave of layoffs as the economy battles its worst recession for decades.
Shares in Twitter have risen by 4 percent after the social media firm reported its highest ever yearly growth of daily users who can see advertising.
Average monetisable daily users rose by 34 percent year-on-year to 186 million-beating analysts estimates of 176 million.
However ,Twitter missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly revenue as the coronavirus pandemic battered the firm’s events -focused digital advertising business.
Advertising revenue fell by 23 percent to 562 million dollars against forecasts of 585 million.
The firm’s CEO Jack Dorsey has also an apologised again for last week’s hack that compromised the accounts of high-profile users.
Mr Dorsey said that he felt “terrible” about the incident and that Twitter had taken immediate steps to improve security.
And-South Korea has slipped into recession as the country struggles with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Asia’s 4th largest economy saw GDP slump by a worse than expected rate of 2.9 percent year-on-year.
Exports caused the biggest drag on the economy falling by the biggest amount since 1963.
South Korea joins both Japan and Singapore which have both entered recession In recent weeks but the country’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-Ki says that he remains optimistic that the economy will recover quickly and is predicting a “China style rebound” in the third quarter.
Sport.
Cricket-The third and final Test between England and West Indies gets underway at Old Trafford today with both sides still in with a chance of winning the series.
West Indies won the first Test at Southampton with England winning the second Test.
Jofra Archer is back for England after serving a one match suspension for breaking England’s bio-secure bubble before the second Test.
Ben Stokes still has a groin niggle and may not be able to bowl.
The West Indies captain Jason Holder has told his side to “keep pushing” as the tourists look for a first series victory in England for 32 years.
Football-The final day of the English Premier League season will be played on Sunday with several issues still to be resolved.
One of Manchester United ,Chelsea or Leicester will miss out on a Champions League place next season while at the bottom ,two out of Bournemouth ,Watford and Aston Villa will join Norwich in being relegated.
Arsenal play Watford.Burnley host Brighton.Chelsea play Wolves.Crystal Palace host Spurs.Everton play Bournemouth.Leicester face Manchester United.Manchester City play Norwich.Newcastle host Liverpool.Southampton face Sheffield United and West Ham play Aston Villa.
Golf-Renato Paratore of Italy leads at the halfway mark of the British Masters at Close House ,Newcastle.
The Italian is yet to drop a shot and followed his opening 65 with a 66 to reach 11 under par.
England’s Dale Whitnell is in second place on 10 under alongside Justin Harding of South Africa.
Lee Westwood just made the cut thanks to a level par 71 which leaves him on 1 under-10 shots behind the leader.
Weather.
Sunshine and the chance of some light showers in the Alpes-Maritimes this afternoon-more thunder in the mountains.
Moderate to strong westerly winds developing this afternoon and highs of 27-33 degrees.
Overnight lows of 21 degrees on the coast and 18 degrees inland with clear skies.
The weekend-Clear skies with highs of 27-31 degrees.
Electric bike-sharing firm Pony says all of its vehicles will be back out on the streets of Nice no later than June, after they were withdrawn last mo...
Read More
Gabriel Attal announced new measures In response to recent acts of violence among young people during a visit to Viry-Châtillon. Attal highlighted the...
Read More
The owners of a vast floating artificial island that had been planned for last summer off the coast of Mandelieu have won a legal battle to be allowed...
Read More
The Monegasque State has successfully conducted its first national voluntary surrender operation, with 123 firearms being handed over by private indiv...
Read More
A hospital in Cannes has had to postpone all non-urgent consultations and operations after falling victim to a cyberattack....
Read More
