French and Riviera News Thursday 12th May 2022

News

Investigation opened after man falls from building in Nice - Police have opened an investigation after a man fell from a building in Nice on Wednesday. The incident occurred shortly before 2pm on Avenue de la Mediterranée in the Moulins district. The victim in his thirties, had fallen from the third floor and was taken to hospital by the emergency services.

Man sentenced to eight years in prison - A man has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for throwing a fatal punch for a parking space. The hearing held on Wednesday May 11th, dates back to an incident which occurred on November 17th 2014, following an altercation over a parking space in a private car park in Menton. The victim 61-year-old Jean-Marie Baldini, had at the time just arrived in the region for a “new start with his family” following the tragic death of his 19-year-old son Damien eight years earlier.

Region’s train network - The region’s train network was severely disrupted on Wednesday evening after a man died after being hit by a train in Cagnes-sur-mer. An investigation has been opened to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. Trains were disrupted with several delays and cancellations.

Death of Antoine Alléno - The man suspected of having killed Antoine Alléno son of multi-starred chef Yannick Alléno, after knocking him down with a stolen car overnight from Sunday to Monday in Paris has been charged and placed in pre-trial detention. He was already known to police. The case continues.

No more mask on public transport from 16th May - French Minister of Health Olivier Veran has announced that the requirement to wear a mask on public transport will end on Monday 16th May. Veran said that the epidemic situation is improving. He said that "the pandemic is not over" but the number of new diagnoses on a daily basis is decreasing and the government no longer considers it necessary to have mandatory mask wearing on public transport from the 16th May.

Television license – Meanwhile as part of measures to support household purchasing power, the French government has announced plans to abolish the television license fee. According to the report of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday the fee could be abolished this year. The abolition of the fee of 138 euros, paid by households with a television and which brings in more than 3 billion euros net per year, is a campaign promise from Emmanuel Macron. Before the election, he had judged its disappearance "consistent" with the abolition of the housing tax or taxe d’habitation, which is collected at the same time as the audio-visual fee.

Ukraine - France has sent a third convoy of emergency vehicles for the use of Ukrainian authorities. The convoy of 22 vehicles will transport vehicles and relief equipment to Romania at the border with Ukraine where they will be handed over. The operation is being led by 52 civil security rescuers. The emergency equipment offered includes 36 km of fire hoses, 56,000 liters of foam concentrate to fight fires, as well as food for more than 40,000 meals.

Ikea - Alpes-Maritimes Councillor and Nice Deputy Mayor Franck Martin has welcomed the arrival of the new Ikea store at Nice St Isidore, which fully opened to the public on Wednesday. 

“The Rock” - "The Rock" the largest white diamond ever auctioned has sold for 17.8 million euros. "The Rock", whose height exceeds that of a golf ball, was extracted from a mine in South Africa in the early 2000s. It was then sold by Christie's to a private collector.

Business

A UN backed report has said that the number of big polluters setting targets to cut CO2 emissions has reached a "critical mass”.  But firms in Asia, Africa and Latin America are lagging behind Europe, the US and Japan. Separately, a report cast doubt on whether oil companies can all deliver carbon cuts they've promised.

Apple has lost its position as the world's most valuable company amid a broad sell-off of technology stocks. Saudi Arabian oil and gas producer Aramco has reclaimed the top spot from the iPhone maker for the first time in almost two years. Investors have been selling shares in technology firms as they move into what they see as less risky assets.

Bitcoin, other major cryptocurrencies and digital assets have also continued to fall sharply.

Meanwhile the pace of price increases in the US eased slightly in April, as costs for petrol, used cars and clothing slipped. The Labour Department said that the annual pace of inflation was 8.3% last month, down from 8.5% in March. That marked the first decline in months, but the rate of price increases remained at a 40-year high.