French and Riviera News Monday 25th October 2021

News

Restaurant evacuated after pizza oven catches fire - A restaurant in Antibes has been evacuated after a pizza oven caught fire. The incident occurred on Sunday lunchtime at the Golden Beef restaurant. The area was cordoned off as 25 firefighters intervened. 50 customers were evacuated. Nobody was injured and an investigation into the cause has been opened.

Traffic interrupted after motorcyclist loses control of vehicle on motorway - Traffic has been disrupted after a motorcyclist lost control of his vehicle on the A57 at Puget-Ville westbound. Emergency services intervened on Sunday afternoon as the victim was taken to hospital. The cause of the accident is still to be determined.

Strong sea swell sees many parts of the coastline prohibited - Due to a strong sea swell the town of Antibes closed its coastal areas on Sunday. The prefecture of the Alpes Maritimes issued the alert on the entire Riviera coast, advising members of the public to not go swimming. The alert is in place until today.

March for peace - A march for peace organized by the association “Vivre ensemble” has taken place on the Croisette in Cannes. Sunday saw people gather to mark an opportunity to “come together for a brighter future”.

Demonstration at Port Vauban – Meanwhile demonstrations have once again been held in Port Vauban in Antibes against the rise in prices. Saturday October 23rd saw boat owners gather in front of the “Quai des Milliardaires” to protest against the increase in mooring prices.

One boat owner with a mooring for the last 20 years Eric Boulle, described the increase complaining that for 2022, the annual cost of his berth went from 1,500 euros to 2,800 euros… to reach 5,200 euros in 2023. However the new general manager of the port Franck Scarlatti, said that “nobody had been taken by surprise and that the pricing policy had been announced in the offer to the municipality and validated by the port council” adding “that the prices have been frozen for a long time and that many boaters have benefited from a place of general interest, at very low cost."

Compared with the ports of Cannes, Villefranche, Beaulieu and Nice: on boats less than 13 meters, Port Vauban is 5% more expensive than the average.

Mayor of Nice calls on the Republicans to fight Zemmour - Six months ahead of the presidential election in France, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi has called on the right to “fight with all its might” against Eric Zemmour, accusing him of openly “rejecting anyone who does not have sufficiently white skin". Estrosi went on to say that when he hears Zemmour claim that he is “rebuilding the right-wing political party in France” it’s “indignation that overwhelms me".

Zemmour is not yet a presidential candidate, but according to the polls would come neck and neck with Marine Le Pen for a place in the second round of voting.

Editor of Ouest France newspapers will not commission or publish polls on the elections - Meanwhile the chief editor of the newspaper Ouest France has said that the paper will neither commission nor publish polls on the elections in order to not fuel media debates claiming that “elections are increasingly taking place without voters."

François-Xavier Lefranc, took the decision to abstain from publishing the voting intentions for the presidential election from 2022 saying that "the survey does not provide any information" adding that he finds it quite astounding that so much media energy is put into the poll commentary and this energy should be directed towards citizens to give them a voice”. Lefranc believes that with these polls, "we have the impression that the French are expressing themselves and they are not expressing themselves at all."

New smartphone app for park Vaugrenier - A new interactive smartphone app "The park explorers” has been unveiled in Villeneuve-Loubet. The application is a digital game that was developed by the region and presented during the first weekend of the All Saints holidays on Saturday October 23rd. The digital tool is accessible with no age limit and allows you to discover the hidden treasures of park Vaugrenier in Villeneuve-Loubet. Once the application is launched, all you have to do is walk around and let yourself be guided by the game.

The Department of the Alpes-Maritimes, which developed the game, has already planned the creation of new routes intended to introduce visitors to other departmental natural parks with eight of them eventually being accessible. From 2022, the Grande Corniche and the Estérel will be downloadable. Then the Vinaigrier de Nice or the Cros de Cast and in 2023, the banks of the Loup and the Pointe de l'Aiguille, in Théoule-sur-Mer, will be available.

Mayor of Nice congratulates Fabio Quartararo - The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has congratulated Fabio Quartararo on winning the Motorcycling Grand Prix as the Nicois was crowned world champion on Sunday. The mayor of Nice himself four times champion of France in the 70s, watched the race closely on Sunday. Fabio Quartararo is the first Frenchman to win a MotoGP world championship title.

Free contraception - The French National Assembly has unanimously approved the bill on the extension of free contraception for all women up to the age of 25. Contraception is already free for girls between the ages of 15 and 18 since 2013. Potentially three million French women will be concerned, as of the 1 January 2022. It will cost the government 21 million euros per year.

Motorists left stranded for several hours - Motorists have been left stranded for several hours on the A13 motorway near Paris due to a cable theft. The incident occurred on Sunday at around 5.50pm when traffic was interrupted in both directions due to the theft, which led to the loss of safety equipment in the Ambroise tunnel. Dozens of motorists shared their exasperation on social networks, stranded for several hours in their car.

Picasso sells for over 40 million dollars - A Picasso painting the "Femme au béret rouge-orange" which had been estimated to sell for between 20 and 30 million dollars, finally sold for over 40 million at auction in Las Vegas at the weekend. The works went under the hammer, ahead of what would have been the Spanish painter's 140th birthday.

Business

A French share has become the most expensive in the world selling at auction for 120,000 euros. The share of the Compagnie des Indes Orientales dated 1665 broke the world record for the highest price ever paid for a historic stock. This is the first time that a share, as a collector's item, has exceeded the 100,000-euro mark. The Compagnie des Indes Orientales was founded in Paris by Prime Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert with the support of Louis XIV. For more than a century, it was the main French commercial enterprise with Asia. Although they no longer have a face value, financial securities from past centuries are becoming increasingly sought after as collector's items, and some prices are being affected.

The French fishing association has said that it was disappointed by the pace of negotiations with Britain on settling a row about post-Brexit fishing rights. Talks are set to continue today, Monday 25th October.  

In the UK, major phone networks have agreed to automatically block almost all internet calls coming from abroad if they pretend to be from UK numbers, Ofcom has confirmed. Criminals have been using internet-based calling technology to make it look like a phone call or text is coming from a real telephone number. Almost 45 million consumers were targeted by phone scams this summer.

A Facebook whistleblower whose claims have rocked the social media giant has launched a fresh attack on Mark Zuckerberg, accusing him of not being willing to protect public safety. It comes amid newspaper reports that workers repeatedly warned Facebook was being flooded with misinformation claiming that the 2020 US presidential election result was being rigged. Workers reportedly believed more should have been done to tackle it.

Sport 

Football – The look on Sir Alex Ferguson’s face said it all on Sunday while Sir Kenny Dalglish sported a smile as Liverpool thrashed Manchester United 5-0. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says their win was unexpected and "insane". The win - which takes Liverpool second, a point behind Chelsea - was their biggest victory at Old Trafford.

Formula One - Red Bull's Max Verstappen fended off a late challenge from title rival Lewis Hamilton to win the US Grand Prix. Verstappen’s victory extended his championship lead to 12 points with five races to go.

Rugby Union - Saracens have moved up to third in the Premiership with a 56-15 win against Wasps at the StoneX Stadium.

Cricket - It turned into a night beyond Pakistan fans' wildest dreams. They didn't just beat India, their greatest rivals, at the Men's T20 World Cup - they thrashed them in the most emphatic fashion.

Cycling – Great Britain's Katie Archibald has won silver in the women's points race at the Track Cycling World Championships. It is the 27-year-old's fourth medal of the week.

Weather 

Sunny with highs of 21 degrees in Monaco, Nice and Cannes. 22 degrees in Saint Tropez with a gentle breeze. This evening going down to 9 degrees in the Var and 11 degrees in the Alpes Maritimes with clear skies.

Outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday remaining fine with highs of 21-22 degrees.