French and Riviera News Monday 19th September 2022

News

French President pays his respects to Queen Elizabeth II ahead of her state funeral in a few hours - French President Emmanuel Macron accompanied by his wife Brigitte have paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II. Shortly after being greeted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Sunday evening the head of state and his wife gathered in front of the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall.  In a few hours Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest. Some 2,000 guests, including world leaders such as US President Joe Biden will attend. The state funeral is expected to bring London to a standstill and be watched by billions of viewers worldwide. On Sunday evening at 8pm the country held a minute’s silence to reflect on the "life and legacy" of the queen ahead of her funeral. Today’s state funeral, the first in Britain since the death of her first prime minister Winston Churchill in 1965, will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11.00 am and can be followed on Riviera Radio at midday French time. Reflecting on the queen's wishes for the hour-long ceremony, the former archbishop of York, John Sentamu, said the Queen "did not want what you call long, boring services". After the funeral, the queen's coffin will be driven to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a private burial when she will be laid to rest alongside her late husband Prince Philip, her parents and her sister.

In other news

White March in Nice - A white march for Zied, who was killed following a refusal to comply with police has taken place in Nice. Family, friends, associations and residents gathered on Sunday morning on the Boulevard de la Madeleine to pay tribute and demand justice. At 1pm the procession arrived at the Place du Palais de Justice where a minute’s silence was held followed by the release of white balloons.  It was on September 7th that 24-year-old Zied was killed by police fire following a refusal to comply. At the wheel of a car declared stolen, Zied, whose criminal record contains several convictions would have tried to flee a police check.  At the weekend local MP for the Alpes-Maritimes Christelle D'Intorni, denounced on her Twitter account that she had been the victim of "hate messages and death threats" after asking for the cancellation of the march on BFM Nice Côte d'Azur.

Fatal shooting in Marseille - A 40-year-old man has died from his injuries after being targeted by a burst of gunfire in front of a bakery where he worked, in the Canet district of Marseille on Sunday afternoon. The shooting occurred shortly after 1.30pm in the 14th arrondissement. The victim was reportedly hit by 11 bullets in the head and in the abdomen. Several individuals fled in a vehicle, which was shortly afterwards found destroyed by flames a few hundred meters from the scene of the crime. The man killed was known to the police for drug trafficking.

It's the second shooting in less than 24 hours in Marseille. On Saturday evening an individual who seriously injured after being shot at in Castellas in the 15th arrondissement.

Since the start of the year, 23 people have been shot dead in the Bouches-du-Rhône, and mainly in Marseille, most often connecting to drug trafficking.

Fire - Firefighters have intervened after a fire broke out in the garage of a house in La Seyne-sur-Mer in the Var on Sunday morning. The blaze which spread to the main part of the house caused considerable damage however no casualties were reported. Police are investigating to determine the cause.

Road accident on the A50 in the Var - A motorcyclist has been seriously injured after hitting the central reservation of the A50 motorway in the Var. The incident occurred at around 4pm on Sunday at La Cadière eastbound between Marseille-Toulon. Police have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

Yellow vests gather in Cannes - "Yellow vests" demonstrators have gathered in Cannes at the weekend.  About one hundred individuals from Cannes, Nice, Antibes, Grasse and Fréjus met on Saturday on the Saint-Jean Cassien roundabout in Cannes to remobilise the movement and continue rallying on roundabouts across France. Several speeches on vaccination, the war in Ukraine and the European Union took place throughout the day. Speaking to local reporters one participant stressed the “importance of such symbolic meetings on roundabouts” adding that the local movement had “over the past three years distributed 600,000 information leaflets”.  

Urban Trail Cannes - 1,233 people participated in the Urban Trail in Cannes on Sunday and amongst them was the mayor of the city David Lisnard. Florian Debette came first with a time of 1:49:33, while the mayor finished the event in 2h27’40”, placing him in 19th place.

Business

Flights will be modified or cancelled today at London airports as air traffic will be disrupted to allow for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In a statement Heathrow airport said that "out of respect for the ceremony flights to and from London's main air hub, will be modified 'to avoid noise disturbance at certain locations and times today’. The airport anticipates that 15% of its traffic will be disrupted,

The airport says the Queen's funeral will be shown on screens and non-essential shops will be closed. Restaurants, cafes and pubs will remain open. The funeral of Elizabeth II is "the largest police operation ever carried out" in the United Kingdom.

eBay is removing sales listings for wristbands for the queue to see the Queen lying-in-state in London. Sellers were offering the paper-coloured bands, which mark mourners' place in the queue as memorabilia. The bands are marked as non-transferable and do not guarantee entry into Westminster Hall to file past the Queen's coffin. A spokesperson for the website said: "These items are against our policies and we are removing them."

German car making giant Volkswagen (VW) has said it is aiming for a valuation of up to 75 billion euros ($75bn; £65.8bn) for Porsche when the luxury brand is floated on the stock market. Trading in the shares is due to start in Frankfurt on 29 September. The share sale is set to be Germany's second largest ever initial public offering (IPO).

Sport

Football - Fifteen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Brentford. Aged 15 years and 181 days, Nwaneri beat the record held by Harvey Elliott. Liverpool midfielder Elliott was 16 years and 30 days old when he played for Fulham in 2019.

In the other Premier League match on Sunday evening, Everton beat West Ham 1-0 at home.

Tennis - Andy Murray says he hopes to "still be selected for the Davis Cup in the future" after he helped Great Britain to a 2-1 victory over Kazakhstan. The deciding match stopped shortly before 8pm as players, coaches and supporters observed a minute's silence to pay respect to Queen Elizabeth II. Murray, who inspired GB to the Davis Cup title in 2015, said: "I love playing Davis Cup. It's different to anything we experience playing on the tour."

Weather

Sunny with a moderate breeze, highs of 26 degrees along the coast in Nice, Cannes and Saint Tropez. 27 degrees inland in the Var. This evening going down to 17 degrees with clear skies.

Outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday. Sunny tomorrow highs of 25 degrees. Sunny intervals forecast for Wednesday highs of 24 degrees.

Sunrise:    07.13hr    Sunset:     19.33hr

Sea temperature:    25 degrees       UV level:  6

Last local news

French and Riviera News Friday 26th April 2024

French president Emmanuel Macron has called for stronger, more integrated European defences as he outlined his vision for a more assertive European Un... French and Riviera News Friday 26th April 2024 Read More

26/04/2024

Evening Update Thursday 25th of April

The Côte d'Azur is on alert for a surge in imported cases of dengue fever. Since the beginning of 2024, a record 1,679 imported cases have been record... Evening Update Thursday 25th of April Read More

25/04/2024

French and Riviera News Thursday 25th April 2024

The post-mortem will take place next Monday for a 33-year-old man whose body was recently found in the Var after being missing for more than a month.... French and Riviera News Thursday 25th April 2024 Read More

25/04/2024

Evening Update Wednesday 24th of April

French scientists have been developing technological tools for the past four years to help athletes optimize their training for the Paris 2024 Olympic... Evening Update Wednesday 24th of April Read More

24/04/2024

French and Riviera News Wednesday 24th April 2024

Nice airport says as many as 60% of flights will be cancelled tomorrow due to a nationwide strike by air traffic controllers.... French and Riviera News Wednesday 24th April 2024 Read More

24/04/2024