News
Two buses crash in Cannes - An investigation has been opened following an accident between two buses in Cannes on Sunday. The accident occurred shortly after 7pm, on the Place du General de Gaulle in Cannes. According to reports twenty-seven people were slightly injured and taken to hospitals in Cannes, Grasse and Antibes. The vehicles crashed into a two-wheeler parking area. Fortunately, no pedestrians were hit. So far a “technical problem” has been evoked but the circumstances are still unclear and remain to be determined.
Two people hospitalised after inflatable structure takes off from water park - A 35-year-old man and a three-year-old child have been taken to hospital in Marseille in a critical condition, after an inflatable structure took off from a water park in Saint-Maximin in the Var. According to the firefighters, the inflatable structure flew away, carrying the two occupants who were inside. Measuring twenty meters long and wide, it moved about 50 meters.
Three people rescued after light aircraft lands in the sea - Three people including a pilot, have been rescued after a light aircraft crash landed into the sea in Fréjus on Sunday. Several people, who were at sea at the time of the incident, participated in the rescue operation at around 9.45am on Sunday morning. The craft which managed to land about 600 metres from the beach in Fréjus had three people on board who were thankfully rescued due to the quick intervention and solidarity of those in the area at the time.
High risk of forest fires in the Var - A large surveillance team have been deployed in the Var region due to the high risk of forest fires. The department is on red alert with intervention groups positioned on the ground on Sunday, due to the dry conditions and the mistral. Authorities have deployed 14 lookouts and at least 150 patrols aswell as enforcing the ban on access to several massifs.
Meanwhile at the weekend 500 people were evacuated and 5,000 quare metres of land destroyed after a fire broke out on the island of Gaou, attached to the town of Six-Fours-les-Plages. 45 firefighters were deployed along with two water bomber helicopters.
State of natural disaster recognised in the Var - Seven municipalities in the Var have been recognized as a state of natural disaster for floods and mudslides in 2023. The decree was published in the Official Journal and affected inhabitants have 30 days from July 28th, to make a declaration to their insurance companies. Full details are available from the prefecture.
Parking in Monaco, now possible to pay using your mobile - You can now pay for your parking with your mobile phone in Monaco. As part of the policy led by the Town Hall of Monaco in favour of the digital transition, payment for parking is changing in the Principality. The new device also allows you to extend, reduce or interrupt the duration of your parking remotely. Traditional parking meters have been replaced by a descriptive panel inviting the user to download one of two applications: Monapass or PayByPhone. For more information you can go to the Monapass website at www.monapass.mc or the PayByPhone official website at www.paybyphone.fr
Last day to declare property – Today July 31st is the last day for property owners to declare their situation to the French state. Each owner must declare if the property is empty, or if not, in what capacity they occupy it, rented, main or secondary residency for example. To do this you can go to the impots.gouv website or call 0809.401.401. This new declaration has been in place since January 1st to identify the premises exempt from the “taxe d’habitation” for all main residences in 2023. This means that if it is a secondary residence and not your principal and sole residence you will still be liable to pay the taxe d’habitation or housing tax in English.
Bouquinistes along the river Seine told to remove their stalls for Paris 2024 - Local authorities in Paris have told booksellers to remove their stalls for the opening ceremony of the Olympic games for security reasons. The bouquinistes along the River Seine make up the largest open-air book market in Europe and represent a 400-year-old tradition. However, about 570 of the stalls, which make up about 60% of the total along the river, need to be dismantled and moved, according to city authorities, for the opening ceremony on 26th July next year. But the booksellers argue the move threatens to erase a symbol of the city. Paris 2024 organisers expect at least 600,000 people to attend the opening ceremony on the Seine, during which athletes and delegations will sail along the river – the first time the ceremony has been held outside a stadium – and that the public will have free access to it. The French government is making plans to ensure the security of the event, for which 35,000 security agents and the military will be deployed.
Exhibition - Paul McCartney is currently exhibiting his photos of the early Beatles at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The series of photos entitled “Eyes of the Storm” spans 1963 and 1964, when the band became world famous, and revives the very beginning of the "Fab Four" in England, France, and the United States. The exhibition evokes Paris, where the group played at the Olympia sharing the stage with Trini Lopez and Sylvie Vartan and joined by a very young Johnny Hallyday. There are photos of the four from Liverpool being tourists in the French capital with George Harrison disguised as a Parisian policeman. All captured through the lens of McCartney. The exhibition is on until October 1st.
Business
Britain's biggest mortgage lenders is set to launch a multimillion-pound campaign aimed at illustrating the range of support they are providing to cash-strapped customers as the industry faces its most intense scrutiny in years. According to reports a £5m advertising blitz paid for by participating banks will urge customers to 'reach out' if they are struggling with their monthly repayments.
Also in the UK, train drivers are staging a week-long overtime ban in a dispute over pay, threatening more disruption to rail services. 15 train companies in England will refuse to work overtime from Monday to Saturday and again from 7th to the 12th of August.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg says its new social media platform, Threads, has lost more than half its users. The Twitter rival rocketed to more than 100 million users within five days of its launch earlier this month. But Mr Zuckerberg has acknowledged those numbers have now tumbled.
Meanwhile, US rapper Kanye West's account with Twitter has been reinstated after an almost eight-month ban over offensive tweets. The US rapper, known as Ye, was accused of violating the platform's rules prohibiting incitement to violence. He has not posted anything new since returning to the site, which owner Elon Musk has rebranded to X.
Sport
Cycling - American junior rider Magnus White has died after being hit by a car while training in his Colorado hometown. The 17-year-old, a US junior men's national team member had been preparing for the Junior Men's Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Championships in Glasgow next month. USA Cycling said "It is with an extremely heavy heart that we share the news that 17-year-old Magnus White has passed away in a training accident”.
Formula One - Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came from sixth on the grid to win the Belgian Grand Prix at the weekend. It was Verstappen’s eighth consecutive victory in the final race before the summer break extending his championship lead to 125 points. Verstappen led Sergio Perez home to a Red Bull one-two. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took third ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.
Football - In the Women’s World Cup today Canada play Australia, the Republic of Ireland face Nigeria, Costa Rica play Zambia and Japan play Spain.
Weather
Mainly fine with highs of 27 degrees in Monaco and a gentle breeze. 28 degrees in Nice and Saint-Tropez. 30 degrees in Vence and 32 in Toulon. This evening, going down to 20 degrees along the Riviera coast and 19 degrees along the Var coast, with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday. Highs of 30-33 degrees with strong winds forecast for the Var region.
Sunrise 06.17am
Sunset 08.55pm
Beach weather
Nice – Sea temperature 26 degrees. Air temperature 27 degrees. UV level 9.
Marseille – Sea temperature 22 degrees. Air temperature 30 degrees. UV level 7.
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