National News France
France’s far right National Rally gains clear victory in European elections - A clear victory by France’s far right party the National Rally in the European elections on Sunday, has led to French President Emmanuel Macron making the shock announcement to dissolve France’s National Assembly. The National Rally led by Jordan Bardella was well ahead of the presidential majority and the left-wing parties collecting nearly 31.5% of the votes. Macron declared on French television that he had “heard the message from the French people and would not leave them without answers” calling for the National Assembly to be dissolved and two legislative elections to be held on June the 30th and July 7th. The announcement has provoked various reactions, with some seeing it as the "only solution", while others denounced "an extremely dangerous game with democracy ".
Meanwhile, voter turnout in France was up two points with 45.26 percent of voters compared to 43.29 percent in 2019. The turnout for EU elections is generally low, but the last elections in 2019 showed the first uptick in 30 years with a turnout of 50.7 percent. The French abstention rate is estimated to have dropped from some 50 percent in 2019 to 48.6 percent, according to polling by Ipsos-Sopra Steria on Sunday. Overall, the centre-right won the largest number of seats and made the biggest number of gains in the European Parliament.
Cooler weather across France - In other news this Monday morning, temperatures are expected to drop across France from today in what is referred to as a “polar air shift”. The cooler weather is expected to last until the middle of next week over a large part of the country. Meteo France says that the north can expect on average highs of around 19°C or 20°C with 22°C in the south. The arrival of the mass of fresh air in the coming days does not, however, determine the weather in the coming months, the theory of a summer hotter than normal remains a theory favoured by Météo-France.
Local
30-year-old woman dies after falling from building - A 30-year-old Moldavian woman has died after falling from the second floor of a building in Frejus in the Var. The woman was at the time with her husband and two nephews aged 5 and 12. According to reports the couple were on holiday in the region. The tragic incident would have occurred following an argument. The victim’s husband is in police custody and an investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances leading to the woman’s death.
Birthday celebrations take a turn for the worst - Birthday celebrations have ended badly in Nice after a fight broke out at around 3am on Sunday morning in a village hall on the Route de Turin. Three individuals were injured after shots were fired. Emergency services intervened and police have opened an investigation.
European elections result’s locally – After announcing that the national assembly is to be dissolved and legislatives elections are to take place looking at results locally in the European elections the National Rally came first in Monaco and the surrounding area. Led by Jordan Bardella the National Rally took 38% of the votes cast in Monaco with the participation rate in the Principality standing at 22%. The presidential majority of Valérie Hayer took (18%) and that of Marion Maréchal took 13%. In Beausoleil and Cap-d'Ail, abstention was just over 58% and 53% respectively. Jordan Bardella reached 41.37%, far ahead of his two rivals. In La Turbie, third place was not occupied by Marion Maréchal's list but by that of François-Xavier Bellamy the Republican party with 10.64% behind the Renaissance 14.57% and the National Rally with 44.11%.
It's been confirmed that the Olympic flame will pass through the Principality - Finally, it’s been confirmed that the Olympic flame will pass through the Principality of Monaco on June 18th. Arriving in the Alpes-Maritimes region on Tuesday June 18th, the Olympic flame will indeed pass through the Principality of Monaco, for the second time in its history. The flame, which was lit on April 16th during a ceremony in Greece is expected on July 26th in Paris and will pass through seven municipalities in our region starting on the port of Villefranche-sur-Mer at 8.05am on Tuesday June 18th. It is expected in Monaco at 2:15pm on Port Hercule.
Business
Holidaymakers in the UK are being warned about a rise in scams where fake social media accounts are used to impersonate airlines. According to Which? fake accounts exist on X for every major UK airline and are regularly used to trick customers into giving away their personal data. The social media platform said accounts that impersonate organisations may be permanently suspended under its "misleading and deceptive identities policy".
According to a study by UN Tourism, overall spending in the tourism sector reached $1.7 trillion in 2023. The highest spending tourist in the world last year were the Chinese ahead of the Americans, followed by the Germans, British and the French. France remains the world's leading tourist destination remaining the most visited country in 2023 with 100 million international tourists. Spain took second place on the podium with 85 million foreign visitors, ahead of the United States (66 million), Italy (57 million) and Turkey (55 million).
And - Due to a peak in production, strawberry growers are encouraging the French to sell off their stocks. Eat strawberries! is the message to the French from the entire strawberry industry. After a month of May marked by particularly unfavourable climate conditions for the ripening of French strawberries, with production down 13% compared to 2023, the sector will experience a peak in production in the month of June. And fearing ending up with tons of strawberries on their hands, market gardeners are already offering tempting promotions with prices dropping by 20% in some outlets.
Sport
Tennis - Carlos Alcaraz has achieved his childhood dream by winning the French Open on Sunday. The 21-year-old Spaniard claimed the Grand Slam title with a five-set victory over Germany's Alexander Zverev. Now Alcaraz plans to have a tattoo of the Eiffel Tower as a permanent reminder of winning the tournament he loved as a child.
Formula One - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has won a gripping wet-dry Canadian Grand Prix that developed into a five-car battle for the lead over the final 10 laps.
Cricket - India battled to a gritty six-run victory over Pakistan in a T20 World Cup thriller in New York. India have now won seven of their last nine meetings with Pakistan in T20 World Cups, with one no result. This victory at a stadium in New York - which will be dismantled once the US leg of the T20 World Cup is over - will be particularly sweet for India.
Rugby Union - George Ford will miss England's summer tour of Japan and New Zealand. Ford started at fly-half throughout this year's Six Nations but is currently recovering from a pre-existing Achilles injury.
Football – England captain Harry Kane has said that England's 1-0 defeat against Iceland at Wembley on Friday "could be a nice wake-up call" before Euro 2024. England are one of the tournament favourites but were booed off after a poor display in the final warm-up game.
Meanwhile, France only managed a 0-0 draw against Canada in Bordeaux on Sunday evening in their last preparation match before the Euro which begins this Friday.
Weather
Mainly fine, clouding over by this afternoon with moderate to strong winds in the Var. Highs of 24 degrees in Nice and Antibes, 26 degrees in Cannes and 23 degrees in Monaco.
This evening going down to 17 degrees with clear skies
The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday. Tuesday mainly fine, Wednesday sunny intervals. Highs of 23-24 degrees.
Sunrise 05.48am
Sunset 09.11pm
Sea temperature
Antibes 21 degrees
UV level 9
Weather elsewhere
London 16 light rain
Dublin 16 light rain
Paris 18 showers
And Finally
“Love isn’t just for young people” – A 100-year-old American veteran of World War Two and his new bride have attended a state banquet in honour of President Joe Biden at the Elysée Palace in Paris. Harold Terens and his new wife 96-year-old Jeanne were married at the weekend in Normandy. Harold who has been dating Jeanne since 2021 said "I love this girl — she is quite special," while Jeanne added “He's an amazing guy, amazing, he loves me so much and he says it. And my god, he's the greatest kisser. The couple, who are each widowed, grew up in New York City: she in Brooklyn, he in the Bronx.
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