French and Riviera News Monday 19th August 2024

National News

French film legend Alain Delon dies aged 88 - French film legend Alain Delon has died at the age of 88. He passed away peacefully in his home in Douchy surrounded by his three children and his family. Once described as the most beautiful man in the movies, Delon starred in hits from the 1960s. The actor was a star of the golden era of French cinema, known for his tough-guy persona on screen. Le Parisian newspaper called Delon “a legend of the cinema”, while Liberation described him as “a leading figure of cinema, symbol of shadowy masculinity, the actor with crazy charisma”. Delon's last major public appearance was to receive an honorary Palme d'or at the Cannes film festival in May 2019.

Following the news of his death the French actress Brigitte Bardot wrote from her residence in Saint-Tropez “I’ve lost a friend, an alter ego”. A faithful friend, Bardot was considered as the "feminine version" of Alain Delon, according to Delon himself.  However, the two cinema legends only starred together twice.

Local News

Festival goers say they were hit by tear gas – Many festival goers have claimed that they suffered coughing and itchy eyes after being hit by tear gas. The incident occurred following a show by the Australian DJ Timmy Trumpets at the Plages Electros on Saturday night in Cannes and allegedly led to many spectators having to flee the event. Fortunately, the panic didn't cause a crowd movement. When contacted, the Plages Electros communications department was unable to provide any answers. Meanwhile, following the event police had to intervene near the Palais des Festivals, on the Boulevard de la Croisette, after a fight between festival goers broke out shortly after 2am. A man in his thirties was slightly injured with a knife.

Cyclist dies after feeling unwell - A 69-year-old man has fainted and died whilst cycling near Peille behind Nice in the Alpes Maritimes. The incident occurred on the Peille bridge late on Sunday morning. Despite the rapid intervention by emergency services, they were unable to save him.

Dead body still needs to be identified – Meanwhile, police are still to identify the dead body discovered on Sunday morning near the hospital in Grasse. It has not yet been confirmed if it is that of a patient or not. Police were deployed on the chemin de Clavery, not far from the hospital on Sunday. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of death.

Man rescued after nearly drowning - A man is in a serious condition after nearly drowning near Grimaud in the Var. The thirty-year-old was taken to the Fréjus hospital centre. Emergency services intervened at around 4.30pm on Sunday near the Grimaud nautical base after the victim got into difficulty the exact circumstances have not yet been determined.

24-year-old found guilty of electric scooter thefts – in other news, a 24-year-old man on holiday on the Côte d’Azur has been handed a one-month prison sentence after being found guilty of stealing electric scooters in Monaco to finance his vacation here on the Côte d'Azur. The defendant from Paris was found to be reselling the stolen "scooters" on a market in Nice. The stolen scooters, with a purchase value of between 600 and 1,000 euros, were resold for between 50 and 100 euros. The scooter thefts were committed on August 7, 8, 9 and 12 in the Principality. Without a lawyer to defend him, the man acknowledged his mistake and apologized. He has fifteen days to appeal.

Water level is satisfactory - Despite the recent heatwave, the level of water resources in Monaco are deemed to be "satisfactory". While temperatures are struggling to fall, authorities in the Principality have said that the levels of water resources are reassuring and that despite the lack of rain in recent weeks Monaco and its surroundings has a “satisfactory” water level.

Les Voiles Blanches – Finally, Monaco City Hall is supporting the Les Voiles Blanches project, which collects new toys for hospitalized children. Donation chests are located at the town hall and Condamine market, with collections running until September 9. The White Pirate sailboat will arrive in Monaco on August 24 to gather the toys for distribution.

Business

Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport are set to strike from August 31st. Hundreds are expected to take part in the strike action from August 31st until 3rd September with the strike period being followed by a “work to rule” period, where no overtime is undertaken and no extra work beyond what is contractually required is done. The long-running dispute centres on enforced changes to terms and conditions.  The union said 160 staff have left the Border Force due to the lack of flexibility. Heathrow is not just the UK's busiest airport but the largest in Europe too. Heathrow bosses insist they will work closely with Border Force to support contingency measures during strike periods.

Ted Baker stores will shut for the last time this week across the UK amid growing doubts over a future licensing partnership with the retail tycoon Mike Ashley. According to reports talks between Mr Ashley's Frasers Group and Authentic, Ted Baker's owner, have stalled three months after it appeared that an agreement was imminent. The business in Britain still employs just over 500 people, with those jobs at risk.

And - According to the latest data and two weeks before the end of August, tourism professionals have experienced a rather uneven season across France with results varying from one region to another. Marking a positive season for some and disappointing for others, the results are mixed depending on the destination. Corsica seems to have experienced another difficult season, which was late starting and affected by bad weather early on and there was an overall drop in the number of visitors to Normandy. Meanwhile Marseille saw a good month of July and rather more disappointing in August greatly due to the surge in July from the visitors during the Olympic games.

Sport

Football – In the two, much awaited games, of the opening of the Premier League this weekend. Liverpool managed to beat an impressive Ipswich 2-0, and Manchester City beat Chelsea 2-0. This evening in the Premier League Leicester City is at home to Tottenham. Kick off is at 9pm French time.

In other football news, Kylian Mbappe has made his La Liga debut as defending champions Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Mallorca on the opening day.

Cycling – It was Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma who claimed her first Women’s Tour de France title after holding off last year's winner Demi Vollering, who won a dramatic final stage.

Cricket - Oval Invincibles have won The Hundred for the second year running after a convincing 17-run victory over Southern Brave in the final at Lord’s.

Rugby – In the 2024 Rugby Championship New Zealand thrashed Argentina 42-10.

Golf - Japan's Hideki Matsuyama gave up a five-shot overnight lead before recovering to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Tennessee.

Weather

Cloudy patches, clearing by this afternoon in the Var region, with moderate winds. Highs of 29 degrees in Nice, 28 degrees in Monaco, 30 degrees in Cannes, Vence and Saint-Tropez. This evening going down to 23 degrees along the coast with clear skies.

The outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday fine and sunny with highs of 33 degrees along the coast and 35 degrees inland.

Sunrise 06.39am

Sunset 08.27pm

Beach weather

Sea temperature Marseille 27°

Air temperature 29°

UV level 7

Weather elsewhere

London  23° sunny intervals.

Dublin  19° light rain.

Paris 24° sunny

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