French and Riviera News Monday 16th September 2024

National News

Protesters gather in support of Gisèle Pélicot - Hundreds of protesters have gathered across France at the weekend in support of Gisèle Pélicot, the woman whose husband drugged her and invited more than 80 men to rape her at their home over the course of a decade.  Feminist groups organised about 30 protests in cities including Paris and Marseille.  The case of the 72-year-old, who was repeatedly assaulted while unconscious, shocked the world. Her husband, Dominique, 71, who has pleaded guilty, is being tried with 50 other men accused of raping her. Gisèle Pélicot has been widely praised for her courage in saying the trial should be held in public, rather than behind closed doors. The men who allegedly raped her were aged between 26 and 73 when they were arrested and include a local councillor, a journalist, a former police officer, a prison guard, a soldier, a firefighter and a civil servant. Many were the couple’s neighbours in the small town of Mazan, near Avignon.

Man beaten to death at the wheel of his car - Three people have been placed in police custody after a motorist was beaten to death in Valence. The fatal attacked occurred on Saturday evening when the man at the wheel of his car was attacked in the head by two individuals. The 30-year-old victim who was known to the justice system for minor offences, died instantly.

Kilos of cocaine found in banana deliveries - Several kilos of cocaine have been found in banana deliveries to four of a French supermarket chain’s store. Staff at the Grand Frais branches in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France were astonished to find between 40kg and 50kg of drugs hidden under pallets of bananas.  Now detectives are attempting to solve the mystery of how the drugs, believed to have originated in Colombia, came to be in the pallets and – more importantly – for whom they were destined.

Local News

Earthquake - An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 on the Richter scales has been reported off the coast of the Var and the Alpes Maritimes. The incident occurred on Saturday evening. According to SismoAzur the epicentre was located 90km south-southeast of Cannes, at a depth of 19km and the tremor was felt from Toulon to Nice.

Man drowns in Cannes - A man in his seventies has drowned in Cannes. Lifeguards intervened on Sunday morning but were unable to save the victim who suffered a heart attack. The drowning occurred near Boulevard Louise Moreau, on BoccaCabana beach.

Fatal stabbing in Antibes - Police have launched an investigation following the stabbing of a teenager in Antibes on Saturday. The young man died from his injuries in hospital in Antibes. The incident occurred near the Saint-Claude roundabout shortly after 4.30pm. A fight broke out and the 18-year-old was seriously injured. The police are looking for four individuals. According to reports the victim had been involved in watch thefts and police believe it may have been a settling of accounts. The CCTV camera above where the attack took place was out of service at the time of the stabbing. 

Chinese tourists returning to the Côte d’Azur - Recent data has shown that Chinese tourists are back on the Côte d'Azur and they are not just looking for the sun as many are here during the off peak periods. A popular attraction for the Chinese visiting our region is the Nice carnival, which coincides with the Chinese New Year, and falls during a school holiday period in China.

Restaurant in Cannes accepts cryptocurrency - A restaurant in Cannes has become the first in the city to take the plunge with cryptocurrency. La Piastra, on Boulevard Alexandre-III now offers payment in virtual currency. The owners made the move following requests from customers adding that for them it is like any other payment method. Other establishments in the Var and Alpes Maritimes also offer this type of payment such as a restaurant in Nice, another near Draguignan and, soon, a computer store in Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Royal couple attend blessing of bells on the island of Saint-Honorat - Finally, at the weekend HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene attended the blessing of two bells which will be installed at the Sainte-Croix chapel of the monastery tower on the island of Saint-Honorat, in the Bay of Cannes. The princely couple first visited the classified building with is currently under renovation, ahead of attending a mass and the blessing in the forecourt of the church. The site will reopen to the public next summer. The Sovereign Prince and Princess Charlene are the patrons of the large bell, named "Marie Agustin", which was established to honour the memory of Augustin Grimaldi (1479-1532) who was Lord of Monaco in the 16th century.

Business

The social media platform TikTok will today Monday 16th September, start making its case against a law that will see it banned in the US unless its Chinese owner ByteDance sells it within nine months. The measure, which was signed into law by President Biden in April, has been prompted by concerns that US users' data is vulnerable to exploitation by China's government. TikTok and ByteDance have always denied links to the Chinese authorities. TikTok, which claims to have more than 170 million American users, will make its arguments before a three-judge panel at an appeals court in Washington DC.

Strike action at Boeing which began on Friday "could go on for a while" according to union leader Jon Holden. Workers are confident they can get bigger wage increases and an improved pension. More than 30,000 worker who produce Boeing's top-selling 737 MAX and other jets in Seattle and Portland are taking part in the strike action after overwhelmingly voting down a new contract.

And – With a record number of people using France’s regional train network the TER this summer, the Michelin Guide has announced the publication of “Echappées en train regional”. The guide is in partnership with the SNCF and comes following the success of a magazine “En Train” launched by the rail group. The idea is to offer "100 destinations less than 3 hours from Paris", "an inspirational guide for Parisians as well as for all visitors passing through the French capital and looking for great getaways in the neighbouring regions of Normandy, Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and the Centre-Val de Loire

Sport

Football – It was a great result for Arsenal in the Premier league on Sunday as they beat Tottenham 1-0. Wolves lost 1-2 at home to Newcastle. Meanwhile, in other matches Manchester United beat Southampton 3-0, Liverpool lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa beat Everton 3-2 and Chelsea managed a 1-0 win against Bournemouth.

In other football news, the hearing into Manchester City's 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League's financial rules begins today. It is alleged City breached its financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The club strongly denies all charges and have said their case is supported by a "comprehensive body of undeniable evidence".

Formula One- McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won an action-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the weekend. Lando Norris drove an extraordinary race to catch and pass title rival Max Verstappen. McLaren have taken the lead in the constructors’ championship from Red Bull, taking a 20-point lead.

Tennis - Great Britain's Davis Cup Finals hopes are over after Dan Evans and Jack Draper both suffered defeats against a strong Canadian team.

Cricket - Ireland secured a thrilling five-wicket victory over England in Dublin in the women's T20 internationals.  It is Ireland's first T20 victory over England in their fourth meeting and means the two-match series is drawn 1-1.

Weather

Partly cloudy with sunny spells. Highs of 24 in Nice, Monaco and Cannes. 26 in Toulon and Saint-Tropez. A gentle to moderate breeze across the region. This evening going down to 14 degrees along the coast and 11 degrees inland.

The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday, sunny intervals to start with tomorrow with light rain forecast for the afternoon and highs of 26 degrees. Wednesday, cloudy but remaining dry with winds picking up in the Var region and highs of 24 degrees.

Sunrise 07.11am

Sunset 07.38pm

Beach weather

Sea temperature Nice 24

Air temperature 23 degrees

UV level 5

Cloudy with sunny intervals.

Weather elsewhere

London 21° sunny intervals.

Paris 20° sunny intervals.

Dublin 19° sunny.

 

 

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