French and Riviera News Monday 28 October 2024

The storms over the weekend caused significant flooding in our region, mostly in the Var. A man in his thirties died in Vidauban while trying to save his house from flooding by pumping water. It’s believed he died of a heart attack. Several streets in St Tropez were underwater, including areas around the port. Frejus and Saint-Raphael were also affected, with between 5 and 8 cm of rain falling in just one hour. A local gymnasium was used in Frejus to house local residents who had been evacuated from their homes. Enedis said that several hundred customers were without power in the department yesterday morning. In the Alpes-Maritimes, floods affected the village of Saint-Cesaire-sur-Siagne, where several dozen firefighters were deployed to help local residents. Most of the floodwaters had receded by Sunday though. The heavy rains also caused a landslide which has closed part of the Boulevard des deux Corniches in Nice. Diversions are in place. The bad weather also caused the cancellation of a tribute ceremony in the Ariane district of Nice to remember the members of a family who died in an apartment fire in the Moulins area in July.

One person has been shot in a hold-up at a bar in Cannes over the weekend. Reports say that four people were involved in the robbery at a shisha bar on Avenue Marechal Juin. Four men were arrested by police shortly afterwards.

Residents of an apartment building in central Nice were evacuated from the premises because of a fire on Friday evening. The blaze broke out in an apartment near the top of the block on Avenue Henri Matisse but was brought under control by firefighters. No injuries were reported.

A man in his twenties is in hospital after being shot in Marseille. The incident took place in the 14th arrondissement in the early hours of yesterday morning. His life isn’t thought to be in danger.

A five year old child is in a serious condition after being shot in Brittany. Local reports say that shots were fired during a chase between two cars in Rennes on Saturday. The child was a passenger in one of the cars. An investigation has been opened for attempted murder of a minor.

An eight year old is in hospital after apparently falling from a fourth floor apartment in the town of Villefontaine in the Isere department, between Lyon and Grenoble. His brother, who is in his twenties, has been taken into custody on suspicion of having caused the fall. An investigation has been opened.

Electricity supplies have been restored to the island of Guadeloupe. Power to the French overseas region in the Caribbean was cut on Friday. The local prefect alleged that the island’s power station had been sabotaged during an industrial dispute.

 

BUSINESS

UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that "working people" will not see higher taxes on their earnings following Wednesday's upcoming budget. During the election, Labour promised not to increase National Insurance, Income Tax or Value Added Tax on working people but didn’t define who that covers. Speaking to the BBC, she said that the manifesto pledge referred to people "whose main source of income is the income they earn from going out to work".

Charities in the UK have signed an open letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for the government to set up a fund to divert fresh but unused produce from farms to food banks and soup kitchens. The former Conservative government pledged to set up the scheme back in 2018 but it has so far not been established. The food waste reduction scheme would see farmers compensated for their expenses.

 

SPORT

Football...In Sunday’s matches, in the English Premier League, Arsenal and Liverpool drew 2-2. A late penalty by Jarrod Bowen gave West Ham victory at Manchester United. The final score there was 2-1. Chelsea beat Newcastle United 2-1, and Crystal Palace beat Spurs 1-0.

In Spain, La Liga and Real Madrid have condemned racist abuse aimed at Barcelona player Lamine Yamal during their match on Saturday. La Liga said in a statement that it would “immediately report the racist insults and gestures received by Barcelona players” to Spanish authorities including the Hate Crimes Section of the National Police Information Brigade.

Rugby League… England held off Samoa to claim a hard-fought victory in the opening match of their two-Test series. The final score was England 34, Samoa 18.

Athletics… Ethiopian runner Yomif Kejelcha has set a new world record in the Valencia Half Marathon. He finished in 57 minutes 30 seconds, which was one second quicker than Ugandan Jacob Kip-limo's time set in Lisbon three years ago.

Tennis… British player Jack Draper has won the biggest title of his career at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. the 22 year old beat Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-5.

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