National News
Paris Olympics - The organisers of the Paris Olympics, which begin in July, have vowed they will be the “greenest ever Games”, halving the carbon footprint of London 2012 and Rio 2016 from their average of 3.5m tonnes of CO2 to about 1.75m tonnes. Organisers say they are setting a precedent by using existing or temporary venues for most events and focusing on low-carbon building for the rest.
Exceptionally high temperatures across France - France has experienced an exceptional early heat wave with temperatures exceeding 32°C in the South on Saturday. The average daily temperature across the country, reached 17.6°C which has never been seen before in early April. Meteo France warns that due to the effect of global warming, with consequences which are increasingly visible in France and around the world, “the rise in temperatures illustrates a broader phenomenon, marked by a cycle of seasons which will in the future be disrupted”. On Sunday, temperatures had started to drop.
No finish line in Nice breaks record - The 6th edition of the No finish line in Nice has broken its record covering more than 100,000km in five days. The symbolic bar of 101,892 km was broken on Sunday. This year saw nearly 6,000 participants getting involved for a good cause. Since its launch in 2018, the success of the No finish line has continued. Open to all, the race raises money for charity.
Traffic update - Traffic will be alternated on the RD42 from this Monday morning until April 26. Work is being carried out on part of the RD42 weekdays from 7am to 5pm delays are expected.
3-star hotel – Finally, a 3-star hotel on the Boulevard de Riquier in Nice has announced its opening date and has started recruiting. Around thirty positions are to be filled and an open day is planned for tomorrow Tuesday, April 9th. Announced three years ago, the Mama Shelter hotel plans to open on June 13th. The 3-star hotel is advertised as a hipster hangout and is much more than a hotel with a hundred rooms: festive rooftop, DJ sets, original meeting rooms and shops. All job offers can be viewed on Careers.ennismore.com.
Business
In the UK today passengers on some of the country’s busiest rail routes will face travel chaos as train drivers are set to strike for the third time in four days. Members of Aslef will walk out resulting in significant reductions in services, especially in East Anglia and the South East. Aslef is embroiled in a near two-year long dispute over pay, with no sign of a breakthrough and no talks planned. The strike will hit c2c, Gatwick Express, Greater Anglia, Southeastern, Southern, South Western Railway, Great Northern and Thameslink.
In France the President of the Republican party Éric Ciotti has announced that the party will not hesitate to file a motion of censorship against the government in the National Assembly in the case of tax hikes. In an interview with Le Parisien, the MP for the Alpes-Maritimes said that when it came to public finances there were certain red lines that should not be crossed, notably a hike in taxes in a country where they are already one of the highest in the world.
And - The price of cigarettes is increasing in France; the number of smokers has stabilized at nearly 12 million and sales in tobacco shops are decreasing. In its latest study "Empty Pack Survey” 39.8% of cigarettes consumed in France are purchased outside national sales networks. When they are not counterfeits, they are contraband cigarettes or purchased legally in other countries or in duty free. The five regions where contraband purchases are the highest are Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur (41.80%), Nouvelle Aquitaine (41.50%), Ile-de-France (40.90%), Brittany (40). .30%) and Burgundy Franche Comté (40.30%). The customs services have been cracking down on the trafficking. At the end of March, more than 27 tonnes of tobacco were seized during an operation across France called "Colbert II", the equivalent of 20 million euros in revenue for the State. This operation lasted a week and required the intervention of more than 10,000 state agents including 5,300 customs officers.
Sport
Football – In the Premier League on Sunday Liverpool showed fight and spirit against Manchester United leaving with a point after a two all draw. In other matches on Sunday Sheffield drew two all at home to Chelsea and Spurs beat Nottingham Forest 3-1.
Arsenal fans will be buzzing because the title is in their hands now - well, to a degree. Liverpool and Manchester City are both relying on them slipping up.
Formula One – “Looks like no one is going to catch Max Verstappen this year” were the words of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff after the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull took both first and second place with Ferrari taking 3rd and 4th.
Athletics - Russ Cook, better known as Hardest Geezer, has completed his challenge to run the entire length of Africa. Cook accomplishment comes almost one year after he started crossing deserts, mountains, and rainforest across 16 countries. However, it hasn’t been an easy ride Cook and his team were robbed at gunpoint, faced frustrating border delays, and received police escorts along the way. He has struggled on through illness and injury.
ROLEX MONTE CARLO TENNIS MASTER REPORT FROM BANQUE HAVILLAND
Luca Nardi has qualified for the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters for the second consecutive year on Sunday when he clawed past Frenchman Alexandre Muller 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The 20-year-old Italian advanced to the second round at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event and will have the chance to do the same this year after his two-hour, 44-minute triumph. In other matches Federico Coria and Sumit Nagal both qualified for the first time.
Today’s action starts with the first round from 11am and in all 17 matches. On the Court des Princes this morning Britain’s Dan Evans will play S;Ofner at 11am.
Practical Information for attending the tournament.
If you are planning on coming to the tennis then to make it easier for you to get to the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and avoid parking constraints, we recommend that you travel by train. During the tournament, trains will stop at the “Monte-Carlo Country Club” station between Monaco and Roquebrune Cap Martin. The TER will drop you 500 metres from entrance 4 of Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Passengers can also stop at the Monaco station and, on presenting their valid tennis tournament ticket, use free of charge the Principality buses (lines 1,4 or 6) to get to the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
By car the simplest way is to exit the A8, at junction 57 “La Turbie” (from France) or the junction for “Monaco” (from Italy), then simply follow the signs. Several car parks are available, and you will be eligible for a special tournament price. Complimentary shuttle buses will then take you to the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Departure from the port area in Nice and bus station in Menton every 15 minutes: Nice-Monaco: LIGNE 607 Menton-Monaco: LIGNE 608
Finally by helicopter BLADE offers by-the-seat flights, every 30 minutes from Nice Airport (Terminal 1 / Terminal 2 / Affairs Terminal) to Monaco Heliport in 7 minutes only. From there, a BLADE van will accompany you to the tournament gates.
For more details on the tournament go to https://montecarlotennismasters.com/en/
Weather
Cloudy to start with clearing by this afternoon. Strong winds in the Var with gust of up to 55km/hr. Highs of 20 degrees in Nice, Monaco and Saint-Tropez. 21 degrees in Cannes and 24 degrees in Toulon. This evening going down to 12 degrees and cloudy.
The outlook for tomorrow and Wednesday. Tomorrow rain is forecast for the Alpes Maritimes and the Var. Windy in the west of the Alpes Maritimes in Cannes with gusts of up to 60km/hr. Rain clearing by the afternoon in the Var due to moderate to strong winds with highs of 19 degrees in Saint-Tropez and 18 degrees in Toulon. Cloudy in Nice with highs of 17 degrees. Wednesday should be mainly fine scattered showers by the afternoon and feeling cooler with highs of 17 degrees.
Sunrise 06.58am
Sunset 08.05pm
Sea temperature
Rayol Canadel 14.9°
Weather elsewhere
London 18° light rain.
Dublin 7° light rain.
Paris 22° light rain.
And Finally
Are you familiar with the “Marseillaise style”? It’s the historic serving method of a pastis, one volume of Ricard and five volumes of water and news now has it that the alcohol brand is calling on the artist Neïl Beloufa to create six unique objects reinventing the Ricard serving method. Beloufa, will amongst the objects design a sculpture in collaboration with the ebb.global laboratory which will be sold at auction, on April 22. A donation from the sale will go to the “Clean my Calanques” association, which fights for the preservation of the environment in Marseille. Interested buyers can contact Ricard: contact@ricard.com
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