Marine Le Pen verdict expected later today - Judges are due to announce today their decision in the trial of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen over the alleged embezzlement of European Parliament funds. If she is found guilty, she could be blocked from participating in France’s next presidential election. Le Pen will attend the announcement of the verdict in person at the Paris criminal court. Prosecutors have requested a five-year prison sentence, a €300,000 fine, and a five-year ban on being elected. She and 25 other co-defendants went on trial last November.
Arrests made over gang attacks on businesses - In local news, eight people have been placed in pre-trial detention in connection with a suspected arson attack and shooting at two restaurants in Nice. Another eight people have been put under judicial supervision. They're suspected of having links with the Marseille-based DZ Mafia drugs gang. The group regularly carries out attacks on businesses. The 16 suspects, men and women all in their 20s, were arrested last week in a large-scale police operation. It comes after a suspicious fire broke out at La Grillade Niçoise restaurant in the Riquier district of Nice in October last year. A few days later, shots were fired at the façade of Point B burger restaurant, in the same neighbourhood.
Call to remove Israeli flags in Nice - An association has written to the mayor of Nice calling for the Israeli flags on Nice city hall to be removed. The flags have been there since October 2023, a day after Hamas's attack on Israeli territory. Nice mayor Christian Estrosi has said in the past that the flags will remain there until all Israeli hostages are released. The France-Palestine association says it will take the matter to court and describes the gesture as an abuse of power. The association said that, at the very least, if the flags are to stay, then Palestinian flags should also be put up. A previous attempt in court by the Nice to Gaza association to have the flags removed was rejected.
Break-in at Cannes tourist office - Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of breaking in to Cannes tourist office, next to the Palais des Festivals, in the early hours of Saturday morning. CCTV footage shows two people breaking in through a back door and stealing money from a till. Municipal police made the arrests about an hour later at Cannes railway station and seized a pile of banknotes. The exact amount of the theft has not been confirmed.
Work under way to prepare beaches for summer - Swimming at Larvotto beach in Monaco has been banned for the next month while works are carried out to level the beach. Reshaping work is being done from today until 18 April to reduce the slope down to the sea, which has become steeper over the winter. Parts of the beach will still be accessible and all the seafront restaurants and shops will remain open. Meanwhile, bulldozers have been busy in action over the weekend preparing the beaches of Nice for the peak season. Pebbles are being redistributed and the beach surface levelled after rough seas over the winter caused some damage.
Busy end to Riviera ski season - The Mercantour ski resorts are celebrating a successful end to the winter season. After a slow start, officials at Isola 2000 say there's been abundant snowfall since the new year - and visitor numbers and hotel occupancy remain high. Valberg was the first ski resort to finish its season. It closed at the weekend, while Auron is expected to stay open until mid-April. Isola is also still open. It'll be welcoming visitors this coming weekend for the start of the World Junior Skicross and Snowboard Cross Championships.
BUSINESS
Downing Street says the UK would not hesitate to retaliate against US tariffs if needed. The government is in last-minute negotiations with the White House ahead of a 25% tax on car imports and threats of wider tariffs on other goods on 2 April. It is trying to get an exemption, arguing that - unlike other countries - the UK has a relatively equal trading relationship with the US. Prime minister Keir Starmer has said he does not want to jump into a trade war. US President Donald Trump has introduced a series of tariffs targeting goods from other countries, arguing the measures will help American manufacturers and protect jobs despite warnings prices could go up for consumers.
Protesters have gathered outside Tesla showrooms to make a stand against the company's billionaire owner, Elon Musk. Thousands of people worldwide took part in the coordinated protest to oppose Musk's recent prominence in US politics. Holding signs urging people to boycott the company, the 'Tesla Takedown' protest was part of a global day of action. Rallies were held in front of nearly every Tesla showroom in the US and many around the world – a concerted effort to go after the billionaire’s deep pockets as the CEO of the electric vehicle maker. Protest organizers asked people to do three things: don’t buy a Tesla, sell off Tesla stock and join the “Tesla Takedown” movement. More than 200 events were planned worldwide, starting in Australia and New Zealand and then rippling across Europe in countries including Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK.
SPORT
Tennis - Aryna Sabalenka further cemented her status as the best player in the world, winning the Miami Open for the first time in her career with a 7-5, 6-2 win over the fourth seed Jessica Pegula. Sabalenka has now won 19 WTA titles and is the third WTA No 1 in history to reach the finals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells and the Miami Open in the same year.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won Great Britain's first figure skating World Championship medal in more than 40 years with an ice dance bronze medal in Boston.
It's the first time since 1984 that British skaters stood on a world podium in any discipline, when Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won their fourth and final global title.
Football - Nottingham Forest are through to their first FA Cup semi-final in 34 years after beating Brighton in a penalty shootout. In March last year, Nottingham Forest were teetering precariously above the Premier League relegation zone following a points deduction, and out of both domestic cup competitions. Fast forward 12 months and they are flying high in the league. Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels was the hero for the visitors at the Amex Stadium, making two crucial saves to keep Forest's hopes alive of their first FA Cup triumph since 1959.
And in local football, AS Monaco won the Riviera derby on Saturday night. They came from 1-0 down at halftime to beat OGC Nice 2-1 at the Stade Louis II. AS Monaco are second in the Ligue 1 table with 50 points, a long way behind leaders PSG on 71. OGC Nice are fourth behind Marseille. The next Nice match is against Nantes at the Allianz Riviera on Friday evening. AS Monaco will travel to Brest on Saturday.
WEATHER
It should be another fine and sunny day today across the Riviera with a gentle breeze except in some inland parts of the Var where there could be some occasional strong gusts of wind this afternoon. Temperatures reaching 19 degrees celsius on the Alpes-Maritimes coast and 20 in the Var. Clear skies tonight, light variable winds and temperatures going down to 11 on the coast and 6 inland in the Var. The outlook for Tuesday: sunny spells in the morning, the chance of some occasional light rain in the afternoon and temperatures around 16 degrees celsius.
French president Emmanuel Macron has set out the key objectives for this summer's United Nations Ocean Conference, which will take place in Nice from ...
Read More
Two Marseille drug enforcement officers are in custody over the disappearance of 350 kg of cocaine during a 2023 undercover operation. ...
Read More
A local authority in the Var is calling for the speed limit on part of the A8 motorway to be cut from 130 to 110 kilometres per hour for environmental...
Read More
Far-Right deputy Marine Le Pen and eight other RN MEPs have been found guilty of misusing EU funds in the parliamentary assistants' case. ...
Read More
Judges are due to announce today their decision in the trial of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen over the alleged embezzlement of European Parlia...
Read More
