French and Riviera News Monday 7th December 2020

News 

Testing Covid-19 - The president of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region Renaud Muselier has announced the distribution of 100,000 antigen tests in some 1,900 pharmacies in the region. The elected representative calls for the network of pharmacies in the region to screen as much as possible before Christmas. As the French government calls for smaller gatherings over Christmas and New Year, in an attempt to avoid a resumption of the epidemic, Muselier wishes to limit contamination between members of the same family during the festive season by getting as many people tested as possible.

Covid-19 figures - Meanwhile France has exceeded 55,000 deaths from Covid-19. The number of deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours is down at 174 compared to 216 the day before. 11,000 new cases of Covid have been declared in the last 24 hours and the number of patients in intensive care has continued to decline, to 3,210, according to data from Public Health France. However, the figures from Public Health France are not yet those set out by the French President Emmanuel Macron on November 24th in order to lift the lockdown on the 15th December (which is in less than ten days’ time).

Macron had set out two conditions for the lifting of lockdown firstly that the number of daily cases fell to "around 5,000 per day" and secondly that there are "between 2,500 to 3,000 people in intensive care". While the figures are rather encouraging, they are still far from the objective set by the President.

Protests against security law - Paris has seen another weekend of violence after thousands took to the streets on Saturday in protest against the French government’s new security law. Clashes erupted between police and pockets of protesters. The march in Paris was one of 100 planned throughout France on Saturday. The new clashes came after French President Emmanuel Macron had given an online Q&A session aimed at young people, which was seen as an attempt by the President to win credibility with younger generations concerned by recent police brutality.

Macron defended concerns saying that “when you have a skin colour that is not white, you are checked much more by police. You are identified as a problem factor. And that cannot be justified”. His comments however sparked a furious backlash from police unions, who called on officers to stop carrying out ID checks in protest.

Climate change - Researchers say that up to 92% of glaciers in the Alps could be lost by the end of the century due to climate change. The mountain range's 4,000 glaciers include popular skiing resorts such as Zermatt in Switzerland and Tignes in France. The research covers the entire European Alps region and is based on 200 years of climate records and forecasts covering 1901 to 2100. The research found popular skiing destinations could be lost. They also found by 2050 almost all the glaciers below 3,500 metres in the Alps are likely to have melted.

Christmas tree - A Christmas tree has been put up on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice as a tribute to the 86 victims of the Nice attack of July 14th 2016. The pensioner behind the idea didn’t lose a loved one in the attack but told local press that he “felt the need to do something to participate in the memory of those that lost their lives”. Passersby have been invited to decorate the tree which boasts 86 lights, one for each victim. Louis Baudoin says he hopes that the idea will motivate the 360 mayors of France to also put a tree in front of their town halls for all terror attacks throughout the world, concluding that “maybe the idea could become a worldwide action”.

Monaco Telecom - In a move improving both safety and reliability for its customers, Monaco telecom has received certification from Certi-Trust, guaranteeing the security of customer data and backup services in the event of an incident. The recognition is essential in providing a better guarantee of security for customers. Managing director Martin Peronnet said “We owe it to our customers in Monaco. The Principality's digital transformation and its digital economy can now rely on infrastructures which meet the highest international standards”.

Largest pharmacy in Europe - The largest pharmacy in Europe is to open its doors in Cap 3000 today. The shopping centre in Saint-Laurent du Var will welcome the 2,500m² space making it the largest in Europe.

The resilient Riviera property market - With 2020 transaction levels higher than expected and strong demand for spring property, International Real Estate agents Savills are looking ahead and taking encouragement from the resilience of the Riviera property market. Savills lastest research* shows buyer sentiment remains strong with transquility, space, proximity to transport hubs and home working facilities topping the list for buyers in the year ahead. The International property agents report that whilst coastal property remains in