French and Riviera News Monday 30th May 2022

News

Drought alert - Nearly the entire region of the Alpes-Maritimes has now been placed on a drought alert as the whole of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region is concerned. The prefecture has announced a lack of between 40 to 60% of water in the soil, an unprecedented water deficit for nearly 70 years. Many restrictions have been introduced to both professionals and individuals. Watering, for example, is limited, or even prohibited from between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. The washing of vehicles and machinery is also prohibited, as is the cleaning of terraces, roads or facades. There is also a ban on filling swimming pools and private spas.

Shooting in Nice - There has been another shooting in Nice. A man in his thirties was shot and wounded on Sunday at around 3.30pm in the Ariane district. It’s the second shooting in just a few days as last Thursday, a man was shot dead on the boulevard Louis-Braille in Saint Roch. Police have opened an investigation.

Traffic disrupted on the RD558 - Traffic has been disrupted between Grimaud and La Garde-Freinet in the Var, after a fire broke out on the roadside on Sunday shortly after 1pm. Firefighters arrived quickly on site and were able to extinguish the blaze which destroyed some 600m² of vegetation on the RD558.

Meeting to be held this morning following incidents which marked Champions League Final - France’s Ministry of Sport is to meet with the FFF, UEFA, Stade de France as well as local authorities this Monday morning following the incidents that marked the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid on Saturday evening at the Stade de France. As is stands UEFA, the Ministry of Sports and the Paris Police Prefecture are taking the same line, namely that of pointing the responsibility of English supporters who would have forced the police checkpoint in order to enter the stadium, some without tickets. The French Football Federation, legal manager of the fanzone installed for Liverpool supporters, has not yet reacted.

Palme d’Or - Triangle of Sadness has walked away with this year’s Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Swedish director Ruben Ostlund the film sees models and the ultra-rich have their status undermined by a string of unexpected events. It is the second time the Swedish director has won the award, having also picked it up in 2017 for The Square. The closing ceremony on Saturday of the 75th Cannes Film Festival was also marked by a tender kiss on stage between actress Carole Bouquet and the president of the jury Vincent Lindon. The French actress was about to present an award when she took the opportunity to ask for a kiss from her friend and president of the jury, Vincent Lindon. Saying "I feel a little lonely here. Vincent, don't you want to come and kiss me?". After some hesitation, Vincent Lindon got up to kiss her on the mouth, cheered and applauded by the audience at the Grand Théâtre Louis Lumière. "That's cinema," concluded Carole Bouquet.

World record - At 103 years old Rut Larsson from Sweden has broken the world parachute jump record. Performing the record jump in southwest of Stockholm on Sunday, Larsson has broken the world record for the oldest person to perform a parachute jump. Speaking to local media she said that she intended to celebrate her achievement with “a cupcake”.

Business

Oil prices rose to two-month highs on Monday as traders waited to see if the European Union would reach an agreement on banning Russian oil ahead of a meeting this morning on a sixth package of sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Authorities in Shanghai have announced that some Covid-19 lockdown measures imposed on businesses will be lifted from Wednesday. Plans have also been introduced to support the city's economy, which has been hit hard by the restrictions. Meanwhile, China's capital Beijing has reopened parts of its public transport system as well as some shopping malls and other venues as infections ease.

Meanwhile after being closed to tourists for two years, Japan is opening its borders to visitors from 98 countries and regions. It marks the most significant moment so far in the country's slow relaxation of its Covid-19 entry restrictions.

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has said on Twitter that billionaires aren't the bad guys. Musk tweeted that that it is "morally wrong & dumb" to use the word billionaire as a pejorative if that person is using their wealth to create products that make "millions of people happy." Musk ran a Twitter poll, asking his 95 million followers who they trust less: politicians or billionaires. Three-quarters of the 2.8 million respondents said they had less trust for politicians.

According to Bank of America aggregated US credit & debit card data. The United States may very well be heading towards a recession and the Nasdaq is suffering its worst 100-day performance on record but, luxury spending is up 14% year to date.

Sport

Formula One - Sergio Perez has won the 79th Monaco Grand Prix. In an incident-packed race Perez’s Red Bull team managed to outfox their rivals Ferrari. The Mexican rose from third to the lead during a part of the race in wet conditions after the start was delayed for an hour after a downpour of rain. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came second, Max Verstappen third and Charles Leclerc fourth. After Ferrari turned victory into defeat with a series of strategic errors Charles Leclerc did not mince his words saying after the race "Let down is not the word," adding that "Sometimes mistakes can happen - but there have been too many mistakes today. Meanwhile, Haas driver Mick Schumacher said he was "feeling alright" after a heavy crash which left his car split in half. The German walked away from the crash, which did initially look distressing.

Rugby – It’s been nonstop partying on the Old Port of La Rochelle since the players of Stade Rochelais became European champions on Saturday. La Rochelle won the Champions Cup for the first time in hugely dramatic fashion after a 79th-minute try saw them edge Leinster 24-21. The triumph delivers a first major trophy for La Rochelle, who became the 13th side to win the Champions Cup and the fourth from France.

Football – It’s good news for Nottingham Forest as they ended their 23-year wait for Premier League football with a narrow win over Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Sunday.  A victory worth about £170m.

The sale of Chelsea football club is expected to be completed today after a "final and definitive agreement" was reached with the consortium led by Todd Boehly. The Premier League and UK government have approved the £4.25bn takeover. Chelsea was put up for sale in March before owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned over his links to Russian president Vladimir Putin. The club have been operating under a special government licence which expires on 31 May.

In French football the defeat of Saint-Etienne sparked a pitch invasion by angry Etienne fans, with many hurling flares at the main stand and towards the players' tunnel. Saint-Etienne were relegated from Ligue 1 after losing a play-off against Auxerre in a penalty shoot-out. Police armed with shields and batons used tear gas to disperse supporters. The loss ends an 18-year stay in the top flight for the 10-time French champions, and a return for Auxerre after a 10-year absence.

Tennis - Rafael Nadal set up a French Open quarter-final against long-time rival Novak Djokovic with an absorbing five-set win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Spain's Nadal, 35, dropped sets for the first time at this year's event but recovered to win 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3.

Cycling - Jai Hindley became the first Australian to win the Giro d'Italia as the 26-year-old eased home on the final-stage time-trial.

Weather

Sunny intervals, gentle breeze and highs of 22 degrees in Nice, Cannes and Antibes. This evening going down to 17 degrees with clear skies.

The outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday - Mainly fine with highs of 23-24 degrees.

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