French and Riviera News Monday 14th August 2023

News

Heat wave - Météo-France has placed the Haute-Savoie and the Savoie on an orange heatwave alert from today Monday 14th August, with the region gaining one or two degrees. Maximums of 35°C to 36°C are expected.

False bomb threats at the Eiffel Tower - The Eiffel Tower has been evacuated twice due to false bomb threats at the weekend. An investigation has been opened after two false alerts were given on Saturday at midday and in the evening, both leading to the evacuation of the Parisian monument. According to French media both alerts came from messages communicated on the jeuxvideo.com forum and the moncommissariat.fr site.

Fire in Grasse - Three people have been killed and 21 others injured after a fire broke out overnight from Saturday to Sunday in an apartment building in the historic centre of Grasse.  Emergency services received numerous calls at around 3am on Sunday morning reporting "significant smoke coming from a residential building in the centre of the city". Emergency services were quick to intervene at the five-floor building located on the places aux Aires. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the blaze.

Man drowns on Promenade in Nice - A 25-year-old man has drowned on the Promenade des Anglais. The drowning occurred on Sunday afternoon at around 5pm directly opposition the Negresco Hotel. Emergency services intervened but were unable to save the victim who was swimming in a non-supervised area at the time and had been reported missing by a friend. Emergency services of Nice have reminded beachgoers that its always saver to swim in a supervised area.

Dolphin found dead on beach in Antibes - A dolphin has been found dead on a beach in Antibes. Emergency services intervened on the Pont Dulys beach at 4pm on Sunday after the dead dolphin was spotted in the sea. The cause of death remains unknown. The Animal Rescue Group 06 quickly intervened and the dolphin was transferred to the departmental veterinary laboratory, in Sophia Antipolis, to try to determine the cause of death.

High fire risk - Access has been banned to two forest areas in the Var due to the high fire risk. The Centre-Var and the Maures massifs are closed to all traffic today Monday 14th August and access is strictly prohibited. In order to prevent forest fires, access to the Var massifs has been regulated throughout the summer.

Business

In a post on social media site Threads, the Meta boss Mark Zukerberg has said that Elon Musk "isn't serious" about holding a cage fight and "it's time to move on” adding that he had offered Mr Musk "a real date" but the rival had made excuses. Mr Musk had earlier on Sunday suggested on his own messaging site X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was willing to fight as early as Monday. The billionaires agreed to the cage fight in June, sparking huge media attention. But despite egging each other on for months, the rivals have yet to secure a date, raising doubts the fight will ever go ahead.

Two "robotaxi" firms have been given the green light to start charging for their driverless service throughout San Francisco. The move marks a major expansion for the companies, which previously faced limits on when or where they could charge for rides. Approval from regulators came despite objections from police and fire officials, activists and others.

And - Amazon staff in the US have received a warning email from the firm for not spending enough time in the office after their attendance was tracked. Some employees were told they were "not currently meeting the company’s expectation of joining colleagues in the office at least three days a week." Amazon is not the first tech giant to depart from flexible working rules used during the pandemic. Disney has already done so and this week Zoom ordered staff to the office.

Sport

Football - Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for a British record fee of £115m. The fee means Chelsea will break the British record twice in 2023, following the £107m purchase in January of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez. Caicedo, who was left out of Brighton's squad for their season-opening win at home to Luton Town, is still to have a medical.

In the Premier League this evening Manchester United are at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Rugby - England captain Owen Farrell could miss their World Cup opener against Argentina after being sent off in their warm-up win over Wales at Twickenham at the weekend. Meanwhile, Scotland were edged out by World Cup hosts France.

Cycling - Great Britain's Beth Shriever regained the women's BMX world title at the Cycling World Championships in Glasgow. Olympic champion Shriever led from start to finish to reclaim the rainbow bands she won in 2021.

Weather

Sunny with a gentle breeze. Highs of 28 degrees in Monaco, Nice and Saint-Tropez. 30 degrees in Cannes and Toulon. 31 degrees in Marseille. This evening going down to 21 degrees along the coast and 17 degrees inland with clear skies.

The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday. Fine with a moderate breeze and highs of 28-29 degrees.

Sunrise       06.33am               

Sunset        08.36pm

Beach weather

Nice – Sea temperature is 26 degrees. Air temperature is 28 degrees and UV level is 9.

Saint-Tropez - Sea temperature is 25 degrees. Air temperature is 31 degrees and UV level is 9.

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