National News France
Bones of missing two-year-old found - Genetic tests have confirmed that the remains discovered near the hamlet of Le Vernet are those of Emile, the two-year-old French boy who disappeared in July last year. The prosecutor said on Sunday that French investigators have found the “bones” of a toddler who went missing last summer in a tiny Alpine village and are working to determine how he died. The mayor has suggested that the remains were found little more than 100 yards from his grandparents' house in the Alpine village. The investigation continues.
Changes from today - As with the first of every month in France changes are to come into effect as of today Monday 1st of April. Today will mark the end of having to display the green insurance sticker on your vehicle. There will also be changes to family allowances and MOTs for motorcyclists will become obligatory. Several social benefits which are paid by the CAF (social housing assistance) will increase by 4.6%, including the RSA (active solidarity income) along with family allowances and the allowance for disabled adults. The “trêve hivernale” also comes to an end today and will no longer apply. As with every year the “treve hivernale” is Introduced on November 1st. During this period, the procedures for eviction of a tenant by an owner are suspended. It also means that any outstanding gas and electricity supplies can now be interrupted by suppliers such as EDF.
Local News
Avalanche alert - The Alpes-Maritimes has been placed on a yellow avalanche alert this Monday 1st April. The weekend saw a rain-flood alert issued which came to an end at 3am this Monday morning. Meanwhile at the weekend Atmosud placed the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhone on a level 2 pollution alert, the maximum level. The alert was put in place following a peak in desert particle pollution and came to an end due to heavy rainfall.
Road to Isola 2000 cut off in both directions – Meanwhile, the RM 97 leading to the Isola 2000 ski resort has been cut off to traffic due to an avalanche risk. Closed in both directions for an indefinite period the region has mobilised services “to be able to reopen the road as safely and quickly as possible". It was on Sunday following an avalanche, that traffic on the RD 2202 Estenc access (Entraunes) was cut off for an indefinite period.
The airport of Hyeres-Toulon becomes the first in France to achieve net zero emissions - Hyères-Toulon airport has become the first in France to achieve net zero emissions. The airport, managed by Vinci, pulled out all the stops to celebrate this distinction with the presence of many elected officials. To achieve this result, several initiatives have been put in place to reduce the airport's direct emissions by 92.5% between 2018 and 2022. Today, 70% of runway machines are electric, with the remaining 30% running on biofuel.
18-year-old sentenced for drug network in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez - An 18-year-old from Cogolin in the Var has been sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment by the criminal court of Draguignan. Already implicated in a drug case, known as "Lorenzo" continued drug trafficking in and around the Saint-Tropez area as soon as he was released from pre-trial detention. A total of 55 grams of cannabis resin, 8.1 grams of cannabis herb and 16.2 grams of cocaine were seized following a search of the family home. As well as a phone dedicated exclusively to the resale of drugs.
Parking charges in Sainte-Maxime - Finally, from today Monday 1st April, motorists will be charged for parking in the seaside town of Sainte-Maxime in the Var. The good news is that the pricing will remain unchanged. As a reminder there are nearly 1,300 parking spaces which remain free of charge on the outskirts of the town and since 2019 the on-street parking app “Flowbird” has been made available to motorists. One of the main advantages of this system is the possibility of extending one's parking time remotely.
Business
The US telecoms giant AT&T has said that personal data of former and current customers has been leaked online affecting up to 73 million clients. Addresses, social security numbers and passcodes were published on the dark web. Cybersecurity experts are investigating while customers postcodes have been reset.
And - The co-founder and boss of Google's DeepMind Sir Demis Hassabis has said that parents should be encouraging children to explore their creative use of tech and to create programmes, adding that gaming helped him to become successful. Google bought his firm for a reported £400m in 2014.
Sport
Football -Liverpool went top of the premier league with a 2-1 win over Brighton with goals from Luis Diaz and Mo Salah. They’re now 2 points clear of Arsenal and 3 of Man City who played out a 0-0 draw in the late game.
Other results over the weekend saw struggling Burnley come away with a valuable point in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea and Aston Villa and Spurs both won there home games to keep pace in the race for fourth and the coveted champions league spot.
Rugby Union - In rugby in the woman’s six nations Italy stopped hosts Ireland in there tracks with a 27-21 win.
Tennis -Jannik Sinner stormed to a 6-3 6-1 victory over Grigor Dimitrov to claim his first Miami open title. The win takes the 22 year old to No.2 in the world rankings.
Boxing - Finally in boxing Fabio Wardley drew with Fraser Clark in an epic British heavyweight clash that went the distance. Wardley retains his British and commonwealth titles.
Weather
Light cloud with highs of 18 degrees in Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez and Puget-Theniers. 16 degrees in Toulon. Risk of thundery showers this afternoon. Strong winds by this afternoon in both the Var and the Alpes Maritimes with gusts of up to 55km/hr. This evening going down 12 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday. Fine and sunny on Tuesday with highs of 19 degrees and winds persisting in the Var and in the east of the Alpes Maritimes. Wednesday cloudy to begin with clearing by the afternoon highs of 16-17 degrees.
Sunrise 7.11am
Sunset 7.57pm
Sea temperature
Monaco 14°
Weather elsewhere
London 14° light rain
Dublin 10° light rain
Liverpool 11 light rain
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