French and Riviera News Monday 7th November 2022

News

Woman drowns at sea near Bandol - A woman in her fifties has drowned. The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon as the woman was swimming about 30 metres from the Capelan beach in Bandol. Spotted by a passer-by rescue services were unable to revive the victim. It’s the second death at sea in just two days, following the drowning of a 55-year-old man, on Saturday afternoon who had gone swimming off the beach of La Garonne in Le Pradet.

Heavily armed woman arrested at Monaco train station - A heavily armed 20-year-old woman has been arrested at Monaco train station. The woman travelling on the train was found to be carrying numerous knives and handguns. Police were called after she assaulted another passenger between Nice and Menton. Arrested with her companion, both were handed over by the Monegasque authorities to the French police. An investigation is underway.

Couple rescued after running into a snowstorm - A couple on holiday in the region, have been rescued after being hit by a snowstorm on the Col de Tende. Mountain rescue services intervened in the early hours of Saturday morning at the weekend, after the couple from Switzerland had been stuck in their car at an altitude of 1,900 metres for up to 8 hours.

Football match interrupted - A football match in Vallauris had to be interrupted on Sunday evening after pellets were fired on to the pitch. The incident occurred on Sunday evening as Vallauris were playing against Les Moulins. The referee temporarily stopped the game. Vallauris went on to win 3-0.

Modifications to line 1 of tramway in Nice - Modifications have been made to line 1 of the tramway in Nice. From today Monday 7th November until Thursday November 10th, due to work being carried out on the track, line 1 will only run between “Henri Sappia” and “Garibaldi” stations with a replacement bus service available between Garibaldi and the Pasteur Hospital. For full details go to the ligne d’Azur website.

Study - According to a recent study, 68% of French people would agree to drive at 110 km/h on the motorways instead of 130 km/h to fight against global warming. According to a study by Elabe, published in Le Parisien this Sunday, driving at 110 kilometres per hour on the motorway instead of the current 130 kilometres per hour would be an acceptable climate measure for 68% of French people. The study was published as the COP27 opened in Egypt on Sunday.

Monegasque embarks on the Route de Rhum -A Monegasque resident and sailing enthusiast is embarking on the Route du Rhum. Oren Nataf, member of the Monaco Yacht-Club is taking up the challenge of the transatlantic single-handed yacht race which takes place every four years in November. Nataf will leave this Wednesday, November 9th from Saint-Malo heading for Guadeloupe. The first race was won by Canadian Michael Birch in 1978 and was marked by the tragic disappearance of French sailor Alain Colas during the crossing. The current record is 7d 14h 21m 47s, set on November 11, 2018, by French professional sailboat racer and yachtsman Francis Joyon.  

Indian wedding celebrations in the heart of Monte-Carlo - The Place du Casino de Monte-Carlo has been privatized for an Indian wedding. The ceremony took place in the heart of Monte-Carlo at the weekend in the presence of several hundred guests.

Successful chestnut festival - There was a very good turnout at the chestnut festival which took place this weekend in the village of Isola, in the Alpes-Maritimes. About thirty local chestnut producers were present on Sunday with 120 other stallholders offering a range of local products.

Rise in number of visitors to our region - Finally, figures have shown that the recent half term holiday has seen a rise in the number of visitors to our region with the occupancy rate in the hotel and catering industry being between 80 to 90%. The figure is better than that of 2019 pre covid epidemic. Now however, with the first signs of snow in the hinterland tourism professionals are looking towards the mountains for the start of the ski season in early December.

Business

Twitter has confirmed plans to allow users to buy blue-tick verified status. In an update for Apple devices, the company said the feature would be open to users in certain countries who sign up to its Twitter Blue service for $7.99 (£7) per month. The policy change is controversial, amid concerns that the platform could be swamped with fake accounts. It follows Twitter's takeover by Elon Musk, who on Friday laid off around half of the company's workforce.

Online furniture retailer Made.com is set to go into administration on Monday or Tuesday after attempts to find a buyer failed. Around 500 staff, most of them in the UK, are expected to lose their jobs. Thousands of customers also face uncertainty over whether they will