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News Presidential Elections - Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen have both qualified for the second round of the presidential elections in France, which is scheduled for Sunday April 24th. During the first round, held on Sunday, the outgoing president finished in the lead. With 97% of results counted Macron had 27.35% of the vote and Marine Le Pen 23.97%. In third place came far left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon with 21.7%. Far behind Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour achieved a score below the peak he had known in the polls at the start of his campaign with 7.3%, however, the far-right candidate still managed to outrun the representative of the Republicans, Valérie Pécresse, who managed 4.9% of the vote. Environmentalist candidate Yannick Jadot finished with 4.5% of the vote and Socialist candidate Anne Hidalgo finished with less than 2%. Shortly after the results Emmanuel Macron told cheering supporters “make no mistake, nothing is decided”. Meanwhile Le Penn called on every non-Macron voter to join her and “put France back in order”. Ciotti reacts to Republican low score in first round – Republican MP for the Alpes Maritimes Eric Ciotti has reacted to the party’s historically low score in the first round, calling it “brutal” for the Republicans, adding the “campaign did not work”. Ciotti also indicated that he will not give any voting instructions. He confirmed that “personally” he will not be voting for Macron. In other news Avalanche kills two people - Two young women from Isère have been killed in an avalanche on Saturday on the Mont-Blanc massif. They were at the time taking part in a group survival course supervised by a mountain guide. Fatal road accident – Meanwhile two motorcyclists have been killed in a road accident in the Var on Sunday evening. The accident occurred in Pontevès at the junction between the RD560 and the RD13 when the motorcycle collided with a car at the crossroads. The two victims aged 57 and 56 died from their injuries. An investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances. “March for the future” - Thousands of people have taken to the streets of major cities across France at the weekend as part of the "March for the Future". A movement which defends social justice and the fight against climate change. From Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Rennes, to Montpellier dozens of environmental, anti-racist, feminist groups and charities came together to share their common message with the rallying cry "justice, climate, equality and peace". EuroMillions winner makes donation – Meanwhile a French winner of the EuroMillions has used his 200 million euros fortune to fight climate change. The man is in the process of donating the majority of his winnings to environmental causes in a bid to protect the planet. He scooped the prize back in December at the time taking the record for the highest EuroMillions win in France. Unusual internet star - Internet star Stepan, a Ukrainian cat and refugee on the Côte d'Azur, is to be honoured in Cannes. Stepan is followed by more than a million people on Instagram and already a star before the war, Stepan had to flee his country with his family who found refuge on the Côte d'Azur and is now nominated for the world prizes for influencers and bloggers of 2022, the ceremony of which will take place in Cannes on May 18th. |
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Business While an embargo on Russian oil or gas is not yet on the agenda, EU foreign ministers will today discuss a 6th sanctions package against Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to call "for more powerful sanctions" including “a halt to oil and gas purchases”. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in late February, the Kremlin has made $27.3 billion from EU oil, gas and coal purchases. Meanwhile the World Bank has said that Ukraine's economy is set to shrink by almost half this year as a result of the war. The institution has forecast that Russia's invasion will cause more economic damage across eastern Europe and parts of Asia than the coronavirus pandemic. The World Bank said the war had made economic activity impossible in large parts of the country, disrupting farming and harvest operations. A Kinder chocolate factory in Belgium has been ordered to close after it was linked to dozens of salmonella cases. Suspected salmonella cases linked to Kinder chocolate have been reported in countries including the UK, Germany, France and Belgium. Ferrero has apologised and acknowledge |
