National News France
Parcoursup website crashes hours before deadline – Parents and students across France were left panicked and frustrated following a breakdown on the online system Parcoursup just hours before the deadline on Wednesday evening. Due to the breakdown the deadline to finalise your Parcoursup application in France has now been postponed to 10pm this Thursday 4th April. Parcoursup is the national platform for preregistering in first year of studies in France’s higher education system. In addition to the registration process the website provides information and offers a choice of 23,000 training courses in France. On Wednesday it was announced on X that "the Parcoursup website was temporarily unavailable". France’s education ministry told French media that "their teams were mobilized to restore the situation and identify the cause".
Report on quality of bottled water in France - According to an expert report submitted to the French government there is an “insufficient level of confidence” to ensure “the sanitary quality of finished products” with reference to Nestle group’s natural mineral water sources in France, which amongst others produces bottled waters Perrier, Vittel and Contrex. The report recommends that the authorities implement a reinforced monitoring plan for Nestlé factories. It is not the first time that the French government has been alerted to a potential health risk. In a report submitted to the government in July 2022, which remained confidential until the revelations of the Investigation Unit of Radio France and the newspaper Le Monde, inspectors of the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) already stated that "it would not be prudent to conclude that the health risk is perfectly controlled”. At the time, the inspectors were worried about the potential withdrawal of the illegal treatments put in place to purify the water, "which would be likely to create a health risk". However, to this day, Nestlé continues to use, with the consent of the government, micro-filters prohibited by European regulations, the company assures that it has removed all other illegal treatments (carbon filters, UV filters) that are necessary to ensure effective water disinfection.
Local
Missing person - Police in the Var have launched a missing person alert following the worrying disappearance of a 35-year-old man in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez. The man lives in Grimaud and La Mole and was last seen in the area of Grimaud on Tuesday evening with his dog. A black and white French bulldog. The gendarmerie has asked anyone who may have information to contact them on 04.98.12.68.80.
Construction worker dies on private building site in Cannes - A construction worker has died on a private building site in Cannes. The tragic accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when the 62-year-old victim was hit by a landslide. The exact circumstances remain unknown, and police have opened an investigation.
Police make arrest in connection with vehicles being torched in the Cimiez neighbourhood of Nice - Police in Nice believe they may have at last found an individual responsible for having set several cars on fire in Cimiez. Police had been actively searching the 29-year-old for nearly a month. Arrested on Tuesday when he was caught in the act the suspect has been placed in police custody. Six vehicles have been torched in the neighbourhood since the beginning of March. According to police he will remain in police custody until Thursday morning. For worried residents they finally hope that this will bring an end to the recent disturbance in the neighbourhood, a neighbourhood which is normally known to be a calm and peaceful part of the city.
Cannes Film Festival 2024 – Orgnaiser of the Cannes Film Festival have announced that The Second Act, a comedy by Quentin Dupieux starring Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphaël Quenard, will open the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 14th. The film, programmed out of competition, will be released simultaneously in French cinemas. At the age of 49, Quentin Dupieux has established himself as one of the French references in absurd humour, with 13 feature films in 17 years. The Cannes Film Festival, which will take place from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 25 May, is due to announce its official selection on 11 April. The Festival has chosen American actress Greta Gerwig, director of Barbie, one of last year's biggest blockbusters, to preside over the jury.
Fresco marathon in Monaco –Monaco Town Hall continues to work towards its commitment to protecting the environment and with the aim of raising awareness among different generations, the town council is organizing a completely new event in the Principality “a fresco marathon”. Taking place this Saturday 6th April themes relating to climate change to be addressed in an educational approach, this innovative workshop is intended for juniors aged 10 and over, adults and also families. In order to allow everyone to contribute to this environmental action, the event will take place during the weekend: Saturday April 6, 2024, from 3pm to 6pm in one at the, A Casa d'i Soci – La Maison des Associations. In total, 5 frescoes will be created all with different themes. The event is free but you do need to register by email: environment@mairie.mc – Please note place are limited.
Business
Amazon has announced job cuts affecting hundreds of staff at its cloud computing business. The technology giant said that the latest job cuts will impact several hundred roles in sales, marketing, and global services and a few hundred roles in its physical stores’ technology team. According to the company’s latest financial report Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been growing and now represents 14% of Amazon's total revenue.
A major outage at Meta has caused apps WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram to shut down briefly. Thousands of app users reported issues accessing the three sites on Wednesday and Meta's status site later indicated that most issues were resolved, however some of its business and messaging platforms were still experiencing "major disruptions". The technical problem was not confined to the UK according to reports about 5,000 people were also facing issues with Instagram in the United States.
And - Search engine Google which is used by more than a billion people around the world, is reportedly considering charging for premium content generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The company is said to be revamping its business model and looking at putting some of its core product behind a paywall. It would be the first time Google had charged for any of its content.
Sport
Football – In the Premier League last night Arsenal won 2-1 at home against Luton Town, Brentford drew 0-0 against Brighton and Manchester City won 4-1 at home against Aston Villa. In this evening’s action in the Premier League Liverpool are at home to Sheffield, kick off is at 8.30pm French time and Chelsa play Manchester United, kick off is at 9.15pm French time.
Tennis – As part of his preparation for this summer’s Wimbledon 22-year-old British tennis player Jack Draper plans to make a return to Queen’s Club. Draper had missed last’s year’s Championships due to a shoulder injury. This year, he has climbed to a career-high ranking of 37th in the world.
Golf – In his bid to win the Masters golfer Rory McIlroy has consulted Tiger Woods' former coach Butch Harmon. World number two McIlroy will become the sixth player to win all four men's majors if he wins next week's Masters.
Weather
Mainly fine some cloudy patches with a moderate breeze. Highs of 17 degrees in Nice and Monaco, 18 degrees in Mougins and Saint-Tropez and reaching 21 degrees in Saint-Raphael. This evening going down to 10 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow fine with highs of 18 degrees. Heading into the weekend remaining fine and sunny with highs of 19-20 degrees.
Sunrise 07.05am
Sunset 08.01pm
Sea temperature
Saint-Tropez 14.3°
Weather elsewhere
London 11° light rain.
Paris 19° light rain.
Dublin 7° light rain.
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