French and Riviera News Monday 5th December 2022

News

Don’t panic - French President Emmanuel Macron has said that there is “no reason to panic about possible power cuts this winter”, but he did however call on citizens to use less energy and on the state utility EDF to restart nuclear reactors to prevent power cuts in case of cold weather. Macron denied that the risk of rolling blackouts was due to inadequate management of EDF's nuclear reactor restart programme. Meanwhile the head of French power grid operator RTE said last week that France may face "some days" of power cuts this winter and that the government has started briefing local authorities on how to handle any outages.

9th wave of covid - France’s health minister has called on the population to act responsibly in the face of a ninth wave of covid leading up to the festive season. Speaking to French media François Braun, evoked a possible return to making it compulsory to wear a mask due to the rise in cases.

Motorists trapped by heavy snowfall - Hundreds of motorists have been left trapped in their vehicles after heavy snowfall in the Lozère region in southern France. Images posted on social networks show hundreds of cars blocked by snow on the A75. The department had been placed on yellow weather warning since Saturday due to the risk of snowfall. Since November 1st, it is compulsory to equip your vehicle with winter tyres or to have snow chains in certain mountainous areas.

Police in Nice shoot and wound suspect - Police have shot and wounded an individual suspected of murdering two homeless people. The incident happened in Nice city centre on Sunday afternoon when the man, an Iranian national, was neutralised in the city centre brandishing a knife and a machete. The injured suspect was taken to the Pasteur hospital and placed in police custody.

Election for the presidency of the Republicans – Local MP Éric Ciotti is in the lead following the weekend’s first round of internal elections for the presidency of the Republican party. Ciotti claimed 42.7% of the vote and will next Sunday face in the second round, his opponent Bruno Retailleau. The participation rate at the weekend was 72.7%.

Tony Parker shows support for people with disabilities - Tony Parker, icon of French basketball has shown his support for people with disabilities. While passing through the Principality and as part of the World Day for People with Disabilities, the Yacht Club here in Monaco organized a Navicap day, dedicated to the discovery of Handivoile. Parker was seen taking the opportunity to greet children and adults with disabilities.

Telethon 2022 ends on a high - This year’s Telethon ended with a record 78 million euros raised; a figure higher than last year. Donations were seen to be on the rise in the Var with more than 333,000 euros and in nearly 390,000 euros in the Alpes-Maritimes. Launched on Friday evening, the 36th edition of the charity marathon ended in the early hours of Sunday morning however, donations can still be made until Friday, December 9th either by telephone 3637 or on the internet at www.téléthon.fr

Business

Oil prices rose on Monday following an agreement by the G7 group of nations and its allies to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 (£49) a barrel. Brent crude added around 1% to above $86 in Asia trading. The move - which could come into force on Monday - raises Western pressure on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

In the UK the RMT union has rejected an offer from train operators aimed at preventing strikes over the Christmas period. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said its proposed framework would have supported pay increases of up to 8%, covering 2022 and 2023 pay awards, while delivering much-needed reforms. But the RMT, led by secretary general Mick Lynch, has turned it down. It means rail strikes planned during December and early January are still scheduled to go ahead, with commuters facing severe disruption on 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 December, and 3, 4, 6 and 7 January. Mr Lynch previously insisted "I'm not the Grinch" as he defended the industrial action.

The McLaren Group, the supercar manufacturer and Formula One team-owner, is in talks to raise hundreds of millions of pounds in new funding aimed at steering the British-based company into the electric vehicle era. According to reports McLaren has opened talks with existing shareholders including the sovereign wealth funds of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia about injecting at least £250m into the business in the coming months.

World Cup

England will challenge France in the quarterfinals of the World Cup thanks to goals from Henderson, Kane and Saka, as well as action from 19-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham beating Senegal 3-0. France meanwhile had to thank the unassuming Olivier Giroud and team-mate Kylian Mbappe’s stunning show, for their 3-1 victory over Poland in the last 16 of the World Cup. The Blues will challenge England at 8pm next Saturday.

Speaking after the match, England boss Gareth Southgate praised his side's "ruthless" victory against Senegal that has set up an "acid test" game against defending champions France in the World Cup quarterfinals. Southgate said facing the two-time world champions will be a "great challenge" for the Three Lions.

Today Japan play Croatia with kick off at 4pm and Brazil play South Korea with kick off at 8pm.

Sport

Formula One - Former Formula 1 driver and local elected official Patrick Tambay has died at the age of 73. Tambay was a resident of le Cannet. Born in Paris on June 25th, 1949, he started out in F1 in 1977 with the Theodore team before joining McLaren in 1978 then Ferrari in 1982. Promoted to the Italian team following the death of Canadian Gilles Villeneuve, he joined another Frenchman, Didier Pironi, who himself suffered a serious accident a few weeks later during qualifying for the German Grand Prix. Tambay clinched victory at the same Grand Prix. He went on to finish 7th that year in the world championship standings. He achieved further success in 1983 in Italy and finished 4th in the championship but left Ferrari at the end of the season to join Renault, a team for which he did not win a victory but signed a pole position.

Considered a "gentleman driver", Tambay also took part four times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with his best result a place at the wheel of a Jaguar in 1989. He was also in the line-up for the Paris-Dakar rally where he obtained 3rd place twice (1988 and 1989). In the Alpes-Maritimes, he was known to have a certain attachment to the region. In 1995, he became deputy mayor of Le Cannet and was elected twice in 2002 and 2008 general councillor of the Alpes-Maritimes in the canton of Le Cannet then, in 2015, he was elected departmental councillor. In a tweet, Renaud Muselier, president of the PACA region paid tribute to him.

Cricket – Pakistan and England will both be chasing a victory in today’s final day of first Test.

Bobsleigh - British two-man bobsleigh pair Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence narrowly missed out on making history as they claimed a second World Cup silver of the season at Park City, Utah.

Weather

Sunny with a moderate breeze. Highs of 14 degrees in Monaco, Antibes and Saint Tropez, 15 degrees in Nice and Menton and 16 in Cannes. This evening going down to 5 degrees along the coast -1 degree inland with clear skies.

The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday remaining fine. Light winds and highs of 15 degrees. Light rain is forecast for Thursday and Friday.

Sunrise 07.48hr

Sunset  16.53hr

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