News
16-year-old skier dies in Courchevel - A 16-year-old skier has died in the ski resort of Courchevel. The accident occurred on Saturday on a red ski slope of the ski resort. According to reports the young skier who was skiing at great speed suffered a heavy fall after losing control and hitting a ski bump. He later died from his injuries. An investigation into the incident has been opened.
Mountaineer falls to his death in Isola 2000 – Meanwhile a 46-year-old mountaineer has died in Isola 2000. The incident occurred on Sunday when Pascal Pompei, member of the French Alpine Club, reportedly fell to his death during a climb. An investigation has been opened to determine the exact circumstances.
Weather alert for the Alpes Maritimes - The Alpes Maritimes has been placed on a yellow weather alert due to snowfall expected in the hinterland. The warning was issued on Sunday evening at 7pm. After nearly two months without rain or snow, the region's ski resorts are expecting snowfall of between 30 and 50 centimetres. Scattered showers are expected to intensify, continuing throughout the day. The sunshine is expected to return tomorrow.
Covid curve continues to decline in the Alpes Maritimes - The covid curve in the Alpes Maritimes continues to decline. For a third consecutive week the incidence rate has dropped now below 1,500 per 100,000 cases, a figure not reached since the end of 2021. The rate in the Alpes-Maritimes is below the national average of 1,780 and the department is now among those with the lowest. According to Public Health France 118,611 new cases were identified on Saturday, February 12th.
Rules for the vaccination pass to change from tomorrow Tuesday 15th February – Meanwhile from tomorrow Tuesday February 15th, the rules for keeping or obtaining, the vaccine pass in France are set to change. According to the government spokesman Gabriel Attal "between three and five million French people" risk losing their vaccines pass, due to not having had the booster dose. From Tuesday it will be required that you have completed your booster dose four months, instead of seven months, after your second dose in order to have a complete vaccination scheme and maintain a valid vaccination pass.
Freedom convoys arrive near Lille - Some 200 vehicles have arrived near Lille in northern France on Sunday afternoon, for a stopover, before a rally in Brussels scheduled for today Monday 14th February. A few hundred participants in the anti-pass convoys formed in France arrived near Lille for a stopover following their passage on Saturday through the French capital (which saw tear gas fired, more than 300 fines issued and 54 people arrested). By late afternoon on Sunday, some 200 vehicles, cars and vans, including several adorned with French flags, had arrived at the meeting place 10 km from the centre of Lille. Belgian authorities had announced last Thursday that they would ban the convoys from entering Brussels.
Presidential elections – As part of the run up to the presidential elections in France, candidate and leader of the far-left party "La France Insoumise" Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has held a meeting in Montpellier. During the meeting on Sunday Mélénchon denounced the social inequalities in France and criticised the holders of large fortunes claiming that "French billionaires have earned in 19 months 236 billion euros, that is to say 12 billion per month, 414 million per day, 17 million per hour, 287,000 euros per minute and 4,790 per second". Adding that on the contrary, the salaries among the lowest such as a home help which sees an average of 680 euros per month or a supermarket cashier on 859 euros per month. Mélenchon went on to present solutions including the creation of one million public jobs, the 100% taxation of the part of an inheritance exceeding 12 million euros and a young student allowance of 1,065 euros.
SNCF Connect is maybe not so connected - France's Transport Minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, has asked the SNCF to "solve as soon as possible" the malfunctions of its new digital application. Since the recent launch of SNCF Connect there have been numerous hiccups such as loss of travel documents, problems reading QR codes and difficulty in accessing the service to cancel a ticket. In response the CEO of the SNCF has promised that improvements will be made by the end of March.
Business
Asian markets have fallen back this morning on fears that Russia could invade Ukraine "any day" and oil hit a 7 year high on fresh supply concerns. On Sunday, the United States warned that Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack and pledged to defend "every inch" of NATO territory. Markets
