National News France
France on maximum terrorist alert - Following a security Council chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday and dedicated to "the attack in Moscow and its consequences", the French government has announced that the "emergency attack" alert has been declared in France. The Vigipirate plan, which has existed since 1978, includes three levels. France announced on Sunday that it was raising the Vigipirate plan in France to its highest level, "emergency attack" alert. The "emergency attack" level, "can be put in place immediately following an attack or if an identified and unlocated terrorist group takes action", as was the case in Moscow. The maximum level is set up for a "limited duration" in order to "prevent any risk of a further attack", making it possible "to ensure the exceptional mobilization of police forces”, but also to protect citizens in a crisis situation", such as posters or audio messages in public places. Restrictive measures such as searches at building entrances can also be reinforced.
Local News
Strike action - Strike action by the employees of Moventis, the bus service in Grasse, looks set to cause disruption today. Bus drivers are planning to demonstrate, and services are expected to be restricted. It was on March 14th, that around forty bus drivers gathered in front of the depot to denounce, among other things, difficult working conditions and unsuitable buses.
Road accident - Two people have been seriously injured in a collision between a scooter and a car in La Bocca on Sunday evening. The accident occurred shortly before 9pm on avenue Picaud in La Bocca. A man in his twenties was taken to hospital in Cannes. The other victim, aged around fifty and more seriously injured, was taken to the Pasteur hospital in Nice. Part of the road was cut off while emergency services intervened. An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the accident.
Hiker rescued by helicopter - A hiker has been rescued by helicopter in Roquebrune-sur-Argens. Rescue services intervened on Sunday evening at around 6pm on the Rabinon Lake trail, after the victim, a woman in her sixties suffered a fall. She was taken to hospital where her condition was reported to be stable.
Tourism figures – Tourism officials in Monaco have reported positive figures for 2023. Hotel occupancy rates were up last year compared with 2022, with a year-round average of 57%. The average price of a night in a Monaco hotel stood at €474 excluding tax. Italian tourists made a strong comeback last year, and visitors from the Middle East and the USA were on the rise. Monaco is preparing a new tourism campaign in some of its most important international markets, under the banner "Like Nowhere Else".
Top waiter in town – Finally, 200 waiters in Paris donned traditional aprons and white shirts to take part in the revived Course des Cafés (cafe race) on Sunday. The race involved carrying a tray with a typical French breakfast of a croissant, coffee and a glass of water on it. Participants set off at a brisk pace for 2km (1.24 miles) through the streets of the historic Marais district around the City Hall. The rules were simple: tray in one hand only; no running; and not a crumb or drop to be spilled. It was open to professionals, apprentices and part-time trainee servers and at the finishing line judges examined the trays to establish if everything had arrived intact. The prize: the glory of being the fastest server in town, as well as a medal and a night’s stay in a luxury hotel. Samy Lamrous won the men’s race with a time of 13 minutes 30 seconds and Pauline Van Wymeersch was the top waitress with 14 minutes 12 seconds.
Business
Changes to post-Brexit border arrangements could see a brand new £24m border control post be demolished as it has been left commercially unviable. The facility at Portsmouth International Port is due to begin physical checks on food and plant imports from the EU at the end of next month, but changes to border protocols since it was built mean half of the building will never be used. Built with a £17m central government grant and £7m from Portsmouth City Council, which owns the port, it is designed to carry out checks on up to 80 truck loads of produce a day. The port now expects to process only four or five daily.
With another leap in profits JD Wetherspoon has announced that it soon hopes to open its 1,000th pub in the UK. The chain currently has more than 800 branches but says its "best estimate" is the potential for around 200 more in the coming years. It comes as the pub giant revealed that its pre-tax profits soared to £36m in the six months to the end of January - up eightfold from the £4.6m it made during the same period the year before. Bar sales increased by 11.6%, while food sales grew by 7.6%.
And - Saudi Arabia has announced it will build a theme park based on the famed Japanese animated series Dragon Ball. The park will feature a 70m (229.6ft) dragon at its centre and at least 30 rides and would be the world's first such attraction based on the popular media franchise. The news has been met with mixed reaction from fans with some citing Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
Sport
Football - England defenders Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire, and back-up goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, have been ruled out of Tuesday's friendly with Belgium. England lost to Brazil 1-0 at the weekend’s international friendly.
Women’s Rugby - A 14-player England side recorded a bonus-point win over Italy in the Women’s Six Nations after Sarah Beckett was sent off in their opening game. England won 48-0 to Italy.
Formula One - Carlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc to a Ferrari one-two win in the Australian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen's domination of Formula 1 stalled due to break failure after just four laps. The race ended under a virtual safety car after a crash for George Russell.
Tennis - Andy Murray was knocked out of the Miami Open as he suffered a dramatic 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5) defeat by Tomas Machac in the last 32.
Cricket - Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir will miss the start of the season with Derbyshire to return to international cricket. Amir, 31, had signed to play for Derbyshire for the first half of the Championship season and all the T20 Blast group games. But he will only be available for six group matches after the T20 World Cup.
Weather
Fine to start, cloudy patches as the day progresses with light rain forecast for later in the day. A fresh breeze. Highs of 16 degrees in Nice, 15 degrees in Monaco and Saint-Tropez. This evening going down to 11 degrees with cloudy skies.
The outlook for Tuesday light showers are forecast with sunny intervals by the afternoon. Feeling cooler with highs of just 14 degrees along the coast. Wednesday showers with sunny intervals and highs of 13-14 degrees.
Sunrise 06.23am
Sunset 06.49pm
Sea temperature
Monaco 14.6°
Weather elsewhere
London Light rain 12°
Paris Sunny intervals 13°
Dublin Light rain 11°
Competition Time !
The Full English Breakfast Show – Anyone for tennis? All week we are giving away tickets to the ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS.
All you have to do is listen to the Full English Breakfast Show and answer the tennis question. All correct answers will be entered into a draw which will be held on Friday at 10am live on air.
Everyday a tennis story will be given on our FB page and here on our website rivieraradio.mc. The tennis story will help you to find the answer to the question asked on air. Best of luck!
Tennis story – The Lycett connection
Randolph Lycett was a British tennis player. Lycett is primarily known for his success in doubles, winning 5 men's doubles and 3 mixed doubles slams. He was also the runner-up at the 1922 Wimbledon men's singles (where he lost to Gerald Patterson). Lycett was recognised as one of the dominant players in men's doubles. He was the champion at Wimbledon multiple times.
In the 1921 Wimbledon Quarter Final, Randolph Lycett played Zenzo Shimizu on a very hot day. During the third set, Lycett was revived with gin each time Ends were changed. In the Fifth Set, he ordered a bottle of champagne, and was drinking it when the Umpire announced "Shimizu leads by nine games to eight in the Final Set". Lycett dropped his racket, and began to search for it on his hands and knees.
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Recently appointed French Prime Minister François Bayrou will make his first visit as Prime Minister to Mayotte today, Monday 30th December. ...
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