Local
Masks - The prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes has announced in a statement published on Wednesday that eight local towns and districts will be obliged to make wearing a mask in public spaces compulsory. The new measure will apply to Biot, La Gaude, Mougins, Nice, Saint Cezaine Sur Siagne, Saint Laurent du Var and Vence.
Heatwave – Météo France has warned of a new heat wave across France from tomorrow Friday 7th August, however temperatures are expected to be less intense than that of last week.
Forest Fires - Around 2,700 people have been evacuated in the Marseille region, after fires fueled by strong Mediterranean winds ravaged 1,000 hectares of vegetation and left firefighters still battling to put out the blaze on Wednesday. Some 1,800 firefighters, backed by planes and helicopters, continued to battle the worst of the fires. Eight campsites have been evacuated "as a preventative measure".
Holiday traffic - Bison Futé has warned motorists of an exceptional difficult weekend on the roads. Saturday is classified as black due to departures with heavy traffic expected in the south of France.
Office block in Nice closes due to Coivd-19 cases - The “La Plaza” office block located in the L’Arénas district in the west of Nice has been closed to office workers after four cases of Covid-19 were declared amongst staff. The regional health authority began a testing campaign on Tuesday afternoon on all individuals working in the building.
Coronavirus - France has recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus infections in more than two months. Figures released on Wednesday showed 1,695 new cases within 24 hours.
Coronavirus figures for the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region - Meanwhile the latest figures published by the Regional Health Agency for the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur have shown that while the number of people diagnosed with Covid-19 is increasing, the number of hospitalizations and deaths are not.
In the last seven days, 919 additional people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in the Paca region but there has been no increase in severe cases.
In the Alpes-Maritimes figures show 190 deaths since the start of the epidemic, with 4 people in intensive care and the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients stands at 34.
In the Var, the ARS recorded one additional death in seven days, bringing the death toll to 139 since the start of the epidemic. Three people with Covid-19 are in intensive care, compared to only one the previous week. The total number of people hospitalized is up very slightly to 55.
The figures concern all age groups, including those over 75, who had experienced an excess mortality of nearly 15% during the peak of the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic in the spring.
Champion - France’s crowned barbecue champion Antony Le Brière is giving advice and offering his home services to customers at the Royal Beach in Antibes. The king of barbecues in France cooks every Thursday evening in front of customers at the Royal Beach offering the opportunity to seek advice and learn from the French champion.
National
Aid for wine makers - French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced an extra €80 million in aid for wine-makers, hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis. The wine-making industry in France has suffered from a major slow-down due to the coronavirus crisis and the impact of lockdown. Castex said the money would go towards improving storage of excess stock and getting rid of what is not sold.
Testing - France's Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport has begun compulsory testing on arrival for passengers from 16 countries where the coronavirus virus is circulating widely. It comes as the number of daily Covid-19 cases continues to increase across the country.
Business
TikTok has said it plans to build a $500m data centre in Ireland. It will store videos, messages and other data generated by European users from the short-form video-sharing app.
Until now all of its users' records were stored in the US, with a back-up copy held in Singapore.
The announcement comes at a time when President Trump has threatened to ban the app in the US on the grounds its Chinese ownership makes it a national security risk.
Gold has topped $2,000 an ounce for the first time as traders look for havens amid the pandemic.
Investors have moved cash into the precious metal as Covid-19 cases rise in the US and more money is pumped into the global economy.
The record high gold price has also been driven by concerns over tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Sport
Football - Manchester City have completed the signing of defender Nathan Ake from Bournemouth for £41m on a five-year deal. The 25-year-old underwent his medical in Manchester on Wednesday, after City agreed a deal with relegated Bournemouth for the Netherlands international last week.
Formula One - Formula 1's tyre manufacturer, Pirelli, have concluded that the race-altering punctures at the end of Sunday's British GP were caused by long stints, and the 2020 cars producing the 'biggest forces ever'.
But they are still going to press ahead with plans to bring softer tyres to this weekend's second Silverstone race.
Rugby Union - The Six Nations has confirmed the dates for the outstanding fixtures from the 2020 men's and women's championships.
Both competitions were suspended in March amid the coronavirus pandemic with four matches in the men's event to be completed and six in the women's.
Ireland will face Italy on 24 October to resume the men's tournament. The last round of the competition, involving all six teams, will take place on 31 October.
Weather
Clear skies and sunshine highs of 29 degrees in Nice, Antibes and Cannes. 31 degrees in Saint Tropez with a light south easterly wind.
This evening going down to 21 degrees in the Alpes Maritimes and 16 degrees in the Var.
The outlook for Friday and the weekend clear skies and sunshine with highs of 31-33 degrees across the region
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