News
Funeral of Didier Guillaume Monaco’s Minister of State to take place today - Heads of State Prince Albert II of Monaco and Emmanuel Macron will attend the funeral of Didier Guillaume, Minister of State and former Minister of Agriculture, today Thursday, January 23 here in the Principality. Prince Albert II has decided that today will be a day of national mourning. Other political figures are expected, as well as a delegation of around a hundred people from the Drôme, and of course the family and friends of Didier Guillaume, who died last Friday at the age of 65.
Former socialist senator from the Drôme, promoted to Minister of Agriculture between 2018 and 2020 in Édouard Philippe's government, Didier Guillaume had become Minister of State at the head of the government of the principality since September.
On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, H.E. Mr. Didier Guillaume, Minister of State of Monaco, was appointed posthumously to the rank of Commander in the Order of Saint Charles. The decoration was presented to his wife, Mrs. Béatrice Frecenon-Guillaume, during a ceremony held at the Prince’s Palace. H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince awarded this distinction in recognition of the services rendered by H.E. Mr. Didier Guillaume to the Principality of Monaco during his term of office. This ceremony was an opportunity to pay tribute to the statesman and his values of commitment and loyalty to the Principality.
Flu vaccination campaign extended due to the high number of cases still - In other news, faced with a flu epidemic the French government has announced an extension of the vaccination campaign until the end of February. France’s health authorities have said that "people at risk are invited to get vaccinated as soon as possible and to combine the injection with that of the vaccine against Covid-19”. The currently flu epidemic is still high and the Santé publique France notes a "marked severity of the epidemic, with hospital activity increasing and a still significant impact in terms of the number of deaths". Those aged 65 and over represent 67% of hospitalizations.
New Medical Centre – Locally, a new medical centre has opened amidst intense flu activity in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, with one in ten deaths in the Paca region linked to the virus. Offering an alternative to overburdened hospital emergencies, the centre operates daily from 9am to 8pm, with seven doctors on rotation. Patients have praised the facility for providing timely care when GPs are unavailable.
Study questions the quality of tap water in some cities in France - An alert on tap water in France has been revealed in a study published today, Thursday 23rd January 2025, according to the data an "eternal pollutant" trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), has been detected in many cities in France. Found in the water of 24 out of 30 cities, it exceeds the standard set by the European Union. Initial studies have shown that in the event of exposure over a long period, the pollutant can have effects on fertility or favour certain cancers. Although it is not, as the survey points out, "as dangerous as PFOA or PFOS", banned in Europe for several years, there are still grey areas regarding TFA.
Fined For Using Apple Pay at Toll – Finally, a driver received a €90 fine and three penalty points after paying a toll with Apple Pay on his phone, as using a phone while driving violates French traffic law. Though toll websites encourage contactless payments, current rules don't exempt phone use, making such fines legally difficult to contest. Calls for policy adjustments to clarify phone-based payments are growing.
Business
French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have sought to project unity by holding a meeting in Paris on Wednesday, as Europe struggles to respond with one voice to the threat of tariffs from the U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump, who has also threatened Canada, Mexico and China with heavy duties, announced on Tuesday possibly introducing tariffs on European trade.
President Donald Trump has ordered that all US government staff working on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes be put on immediate paid administrative leave. In an executive order issued on Tuesday, Trump also called for an end to the "dangerous, demeaning and immoral" programmes. It is unclear how many people are affected by the order. Since his inauguration, the president has acted swiftly on a number of key pledges through a raft of unilateral actions.
And - LinkedIn has been accused of sharing private messages in order to train artificial intelligence models. The lawsuit which has been filed on behalf of LinkedIn Premium users accuses the social media platform of sharing their private messages with other companies to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. A LinkedIn spokesperson said that "these are false claims with no merit".
Sport
Football - In the Champions League Manchester City are in serious danger of crashing out after being beaten 4-2 by PSG on Wednesday evening. City have lost their past three Champions League games away from home, their second-longest losing streak since four in a row between November 2011 and December 2012. And this was the first time they have lost a game from two goals up since they a 3-2 defeat to Brighton in May 2021.
In other football news Real Madrid have become the first football club to generate more than 1bn euros in annual revenue. Manchester City are again second with revenue of £708m. Paris St-Germain (£681m), Manchester United (£651m) and Bayern Munich (£646m) complete the top five. Aston Villa enter the top 20 after competing in Europe last season for the first time since 2011. Nine Premier League clubs are in the top 20, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham retaining their places.
Rugby Union – 20-minute red cards are to be used at this year's Six Nations. It is the first time that the 20-minute red card, designed to "punish the player and not the team", with sides able to replace a dismissed player after 20 minutes, will be used. The men's Six Nations starts on Friday, 31 January with France hosting Wales in Paris.
Formula One – Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has said that his first test in a Ferrari Formula 1 car was "awe-inspiring" and "one of the best feelings of my life". Hamilton completed 30 laps of Ferrari's test track in cold, damp conditions on Wednesday in a 2023 Ferrari F1 car.
Monte-Carlo Rally – This year’s Monte Carlo Rally gets underway today. With the official start at the Place de Casino in Monte-Carlo at 2.30pm. On Wednesday wet and muddy conditions greeted the drivers during the shakedown. The 93rd edition of the Monte Carlo Rally, established in 1911, began with drivers struggling with the conditions on the preliminary stage. Hometown hero Sebastien Ogier, who has won the Monte Carlo Rally a record nine times, said the conditions were not ideal. Ott Tanak, who finished third in the World Rally Championship last year, was the fastest in the first run and reigning WRC champion Thierry Neuville said he expected it to be tough to retain his title. Briton Elfyn Evans, who finished second behind Neuville in the overall standings last year, echoed Ogier's sentiments about the conditions.
Weather
A cloudy start with scattered showers inland, clearing as the day progresses with a gentle breeze. Highs of 14° in Nice and Marseille, 13 degrees in Monaco with light cloud to start should clear by this afternoon and the official start of the Monte Carlo Rally, 16 degrees in Cannes and reaching 18° in Saint-Tropez. This evening going down to 7° along the coast with winds picking up in the Var.
The outlook for Friday is mainly fine with highs of 14°. Heading into the weekend, unsettled on Saturday and Sunday with light rain and sunny spells. Highs of 16°.
Sunrise 07.55am
Sunset 05.29pm
Weather elsewhere
London 9° light cloud.
Paris 11° light rain.
Sydney 23° light cloud.
Local snow report
Isola 2000 – Sunny, highs of 4°. 13/19 lifts open. 27/46 runs open. 55cm snow.
Valberg – Sunny intervals, highs of 7°. 8/15 lifts running. 15/42 runs open. 40cm snow.
Auron – Sunny, highs of 4°. 16/19 lifts running. 21/43 runs open. 55cm snow.
Monaco has held a national day of mourning as Minister of State Didier Guillaume, who passed away on the 17th of January, was laid to rest in the Cath...
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