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News State of emergency declared after landslide in Italy - The Italian government has declared a state of emergency as rescue teams continue to search for a dozen missing people on the southern island of Ischia following a landslide on Saturday which killed at least seven people. According to local media the rescue effort remains complex due to the weather conditions and local authorities have called on residents to stay inside to avoid hindering the rescue operation. The devastation in Ischia comes just weeks after 11 people died in heavy rain and flooding in the central Italian region of Marche. French President announces plans to develop rail transport in France - French President Emmanuel Macron has announced his objective of developing daily RER-type rail transport in ten French cities in order to promote ecological transition. In a clip posted on YouTube on Sunday Macron said that “to fulfill France’s ecological ambition, he wants France to have a great national ambition and that in ten large cities the RER a network of urban trains will be developed”. The Regional Express Network (RER) is the dense network of regional trains circulating in the Île-de-France which has steadily expanded throughout France since the 1960s. Demonstration by bikers in the French capital – Meanwhile, several hundred bikers have marched in Paris at the weekend in protest against the introduction of an MOT for motorized two-wheelers. It was on October 31st that France reintroduced the measure following rules imposed by the European Union. Former French Prime Minister fined for illicit financing of campaign in Spain - Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has been forced to pay a fine of 277,000 euros for illicit financing of his campaign in Spain when he was running for mayor of Barcelona in 2019. The Spanish Court of Auditors has imposed two fines on the former French Prime Minister for offenses it considers serious: firstly, in exceeding the authorized spending limit for his 2019 municipal campaign by 126,000 euros and in addition receiving donations from company directors worth almost 200,000 euros, a sum he did not declare. Festive lights in Paris to be turned off earlier than usual - The famous Christmas lights on the Champs-Elysée in Paris will be turned off earlier than usual due to the European energy crisis. This year the festive decorations will be turned off at 11.45pm instead of 2am, except for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and will end a week earlier than usual on January 2nd. The move aims to reduce energy consumption by 44% over the festive period. Local News Hunting accident - A walker has been hit by stray bullet in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when the 26-year-old man was shot in the arm while out walking. The alleged shooter, a hunter in his thirties has been placed in police custody while the victim was taken to hospital in Arles in a serious condition. According to figures from the French government in France, in 2020-2021, 80 hunting accidents were recorded, including seven fatalities involving six hunters and one non-hunter. Passenger killed in helicopter crash identified - The name of the deceased Russian passenger in the helicopter crash between Villefranche and Eze on Friday has been revealed as Monaco based, Vyacheslav Taran, president of the investment platform, Libertax group. The helicopter, belonging to Monacair, crashed on the plateau at the col d'Eze near the Grand Corniche. The investigation into the exact cause of the crash continues. Free buses in Monaco extended - Free buses in Monaco have been extended until January 2nd. The government said that state services want to give themselves the time to collect data and analyse the impact of free buses on the use of local buses and road traffic in Monaco correlated with the use of public car parks and changes in the level of car pollution. The objective of the free bus trial, which started on 3rd October, is to encourage the use of public transport to make traffic more fluid, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the quality of life. Healthy real estate market on Île du Levant - While on the subject of quality of life it would appear that naturism is as popular as ever on the island of Levant in the Var. Recent figures published have shown a particularly dynamic real estate market reflecting the attractiveness of the values of the island. Île du Levant, sometimes referred to as Le Levant, is an island off the coast of the Riviera and is one of the four that constitute the îles d’Hyères. Part of the island is occupied by the naturist resort of Heliopolis an |
