French and Riviera News Monday 27th May 2024

National News

Three people injured in knife attack - At least three people have been injured following a knife attack in the metro in Lyon on Sunday. A 27-year-old Moroccan man has been arrested. He reportedly lives illegally in France and suffers from serious mental health issues. According to the prefect he made no religious or political claim during the random attack.

French government reveals reform to unemployment benefits in France - The French government has revealed details of a planned reform to unemployment benefits in France, which would shorten the period people can claim unemployment benefits in order to strengthen incentives to work. Unemployment benefits will be limited to a maximum of 15 months, down from the current 18 months and to be able to claim unemployment benefits you will have to have worked eight months during the last 20 months, instead of six months during the last 24 months.

French President starts three-day state visit to Germany - French President Emmanuel Macron has landed in Germany for a three-day state visit. The European Union's two biggest powers seek to show unity ahead of next month's EU parliamentary elections. Macron's trip is the first French presidential state visit to Germany in 24 years. As macron landed on Sunday he said "this state visit comes at a key moment for Europe”.

Local

Weather warning - The Alpes-Maritimes and the Var region has been placed on a yellow weather alert with storms forecast. Scattered rain is expected throughout the west of the region but is not expected to reach the coast. Thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon across the region, but again avoiding the coastal area. The warning is in place until 9pm.

Moped used by former French President sells at auction - The moped on which former French President François Hollande rode to go and secretly see French actress Julie Gayet has sold for 20,500 euros at auction. The buyer who owns a car museum plans to exhibit the famous two-wheeler, for all to see. It was in 2014, that photos emerged in French papers showing the then President visiting, his new partner who has since become his wife.

Cannes Film Festival - The film « Anora » by American Sean Baker has received the Palme d'Or during the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival.  This is not the first time that the American has been selected at Cannes. But this time the festival tasted the vitality of the thriller which moves from the underworld of New York to the luxury villas of Russian oligarchs.

Monaco Grand Prix - A parade of celebrities have been spotted in the Principality during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend with amongst them actor Michael Douglas, sports personality Tony Parker, footballers Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnod and singer John Legend. Ferrari driver and much-loved local boy Charles Leclerc put on a superb performance winning the race, which saw Monaco party into the early hours of this Monday morning.

Business

Due to a technical fault taxpayer in departments 1 to 19 in France have benefited from an additional week to declare their income tax online. The extension does apply to the 06 Alpes Maritimes region and now means that you have until May 30th to complete your tax return. The problem has since been fixed.

Meanwhile, there are reports of a new scam targeting Prime Video subscribers. The scam aims to obtain customers personal information and is currently circulating in the mailboxes of subscribers to the Prime Video streaming service.  The message, in the colors and logo of the online sales giant, informs of the automatic renewal of your subscription, and asks that you click on a link to cancel the renewal. Do not click on it: it is a fraudulent link intended to obtain your personal information. The amount announced by the email is also completely false: a Prime Video subscription is included in Amazon's Prime service and costs 69.90 euros per year. If you receive this email, forward it directly to reportascam@amazon.com.

Pubs in the UK have been told to pour a proper pint by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. A recent report has revealed that more than two thirds of pints of beer and glasses of wine being poured in pubs and bars in the UK contain less drink than they should. It calculated that this meant an average beer drinker was losing around £88.40 a year, while a wine drinker was losing around £114.40 per year. Trading Standards has urged pubs and bars to make sure they are correctly measuring their drinks. The research comes as alcoholic drink prices have risen rapidly in the past few years.

Sport

Formula One - Monegasque Formula One pilot Charles Leclerc has fulfilled his “ultimate dream” in winning Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. Completing the podium was Oscar Piastri in 2nd and Carlos Sainz 3rd. 26-year-old Leclerc held on to his nerve managing to convert a pole position into a controlled victory after a huge first-lap pile up. It was Ferrari’s second win of 2024.

Leclerc was born in Monaco and as a child he watched the race from the balconies of friends whose apartments overlooked the track, and his ambition to become a Formula 1 driver was born. He lost his father, Herve, to cancer, a year before he first made it to F1. After the race on Sunday Leclerc said that “my father has done absolutely everything for me to get to where I am today,” adding that he was overwhelmed by emotion towards the end of the race when he realised two laps to the end that he was struggling to see out of the tunnel because he had tears in his eyes. Charles Leclerc also told reporters that he was is going to "party like an animal" at Jimmy'z night club, which is billed as "Monte-Carlo’s temple of clubbing".

Football - Southampton have secured an immediate return to the Premier League after beating Leeds 1-0 in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.

Tennis - Andy Murray may have played his final French Open singles match after losing to Stan Wawrinka. Murray has said this year is likely to be his last one on tour and avoided surgery on an ankle injury in order to return to Roland Garros.

Cycling - Tadej Pogacar has won the Giro d'Italia with the final stage through Rome on Sunday. The Slovenian, who has two Tour de France victories, won six stages of the 21 in a dominant performance.

He finished nine minutes 56 seconds ahead of second placed Daniel Martinez of Colombia in the overall standings, with Britain's Geraint Thomas 10 minutes 24 seconds behind the winner in third.

Golf - Davis Riley has paid tribute to fellow American Grayson Murray after winning in Texas. The tournament was overshadowed by the death of Murray, who withdrew from the event on Friday with illness having played 16 holes of his second round. The PGA Tour announced on Saturday that Murray had died at the age of 30, with his parents issuing a statement on Sunday saying that he "took his own life".

Weather

Cloudy with sunny spells. Storms are forecast for the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region with light rain expected in Monaco. Highs of 21 degrees in Nice, Marseille and Saint-Tropez. 22 degrees in Cannes with drizzle and light winds. This evening going down to 15 degrees with clear skies.

The outlook for tomorrow mainly fine highs of 21 degrees. Wednesday partly cloudy with sunny intervals and highs of 23 degrees.

Sunrise                05.54am

Sunset                 09.01pm

Sea Temperature

Eze 18.5°

UV level 7

Weather elsewhere

London      17° light rain

Paris           18° light rain

New York   22° thundery showers

Dublin                  17° light rain

  

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