News
Fires in the Alpes Maritimes - Firefighters have managed to control forest fires which broke out at the weekend in the Alpes Maritimes region. 31 hectares were destroyed on Saturday in Nice, Colomars, Tende and Saint-Auban. No homes were affected. The fire and rescue service of the Alpes-Maritimes has called for vigilance due to the extreme dry weather and drought.
Investigation into fatal road accident - An investigation is still underway following a fatal car accident which killed three people in Monaco in the early hours of Saturday morning. The accident occurred in the Louis-II tunnel shortly after 4.15am. The vehicle which was traveling towards Port Hercule lost control before violently hitting the concrete wall near the entrance to the Rainier-III Auditorium and bursting into flames.
Three dead following shootings in Marseille - Three people have been killed and five others injured following three shootings in Marseille. Sunday evening saw three different shootings take place; all the victims were men in their twenties. Police believe the shootings are connected to drug trafficking in the city. Since the beginning of the year 13 people have been shot dead in drug related shootings.
Pile up on the dual carriage way in Nice - A pile-up on the voie Mathis in Nice has left eight people injured, two seriously. More than thirty firefighters were deployed on Sunday evening and all lanes were cut off to traffic. The cause of the crash remains to be determined.
Electric scooter ban for Paris - Paris has voted to ban self-service electric scooters. Following a vote on Sunday the service will come to an end in September. The unprecedented citizen consultation was organized on the initiative of the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.
French minister in playboy - France’s Social Affairs Minister Marlène Schiappa has been criticised by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne after giving an interview to Playboy magazine. The spread which will appear in its French-language April/June edition is considered by Borne, to come at an inappropriate time with the current climate of strikes and economic hardship. Schiappa has since defended the 12-page article in which she talks about women's rights.
Backlog at Dover - Additional sailings have been laid on by Channel ferry operators in an effort to clear a backlog that has seen passengers travelling from the UK to France delayed for up to 16 hours. Despite the additional crossings, Dover Port on England's southern coast said coach passengers could still face waits of up to eight hours before boarding. P&O Ferries apologised to customers on Sunday, saying some will face waits of four to five hours.
Weather warning - The Alpes Maritimes remains on a yellow storm alert today Monday 3rd April. The weather warning was issued on Sunday and remains in place until 9pm this evening.
Scientific research – Finally, the Monegasque group Venturi has reportedly reached an agreement with Elon Musk's company to develop a robot that will support research and scientific experiments on the Moon. The FLEX video unveiled at the weekend summarizes the project which plans to be operational by 2026.
Business
Oil prices have surged after several of the world's largest oil exporters announced surprise cuts in production. The price of Brent Crude oil jumped by more than $5 a barrel, or 7%, to above $85 as trading began. The increase came after Saudi Arabia, Iraq and several Gulf states said on Sunday they were cutting output by more than one million barrels a day. Oil prices soared when Russia invaded Ukraine, but are now back at levels seen before the conflict began. However, the US has been calling for producers to increase output in order to push energy prices lower.
The New York Times has lost its blue tick on Twitter after it said it would not pay to remain verified. Twitter has started removing verification badges from accounts which already had a blue tick, after announcing they would be part of a paid subscription from 1 April. The New York Times, along with several other organisations and celebrities, said they would not pay for the tick.
In the UK Nationwide Building Society has said that house prices fell by 3.1% year-on-year in March, marking the biggest annual decline since July 2009. The figures also showed a monthly price fall of 0.8% - the seventh consecutive fall - which leaves prices 4.6% below their August peak.
Sport
Football – The manager of Chelsea Graham Potter has been sacked. Potter has been in charge for less than seven months. The sacking come following Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa. It was the Englishman's 11th defeat in 31 games since replacing Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge on 8 September. Chelsea have dropped to 11th in the Premier League - 12 points outside the top four - having spent more than £550m on new players this season. The club's owners said they were "disappointed" to sack Potter.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United beat Manchester United 2-0 moving up to third place in the Premier League table. This evening Everton are at home to Tottenham kick off is at 9pm French time.
Formula One - Max Verstappen won a chaotic and controversial Australian Grand Prix that finished under a safety car after a crash-affected restart. Lewis Hamilton came 2nd and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso third.
Tennis - Former world number one Daniil Medvedev won the Miami Open title for the first time by beating Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Golf - Players from the breakaway LIV Golf Tour are planning a group celebration behind the 18th green at Augusta if one of them wins the Masters next Sunday. Eighteen players from the Saudi Arabian-funded league are competing in the first men's major of the year. They include three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson, 2020 victor Dustin Johnson and Open champion Cam Smith.
Weather
Light rain gentle breeze. Highs of 18 degrees in Monaco, Nice, Mougins and Vence. Highs of 19 degrees in Cannes. Sunny in Marseille with highs of 19 degrees. 17 degrees in Saint Tropez with showers. This evening 9 degrees along the coast and cloudy.
The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday thundery showers are forecast. Some sunny spells. Highs of 17-18 degrees.
Sunrise 07.09am
Sunset 07.59pm
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