French and Riviera News Thursday 9th September 2021

Local News

Man dies of heart attack on tramline in Nice - A man has died after suffering from a heart attack on the tramline in Nice. Emergency services intervened at around 10am on Wednesday morning on line 2 of the tramway at the stop near the administrative centre. Traffic on lines 2 and 3 was interrupted and gradually resumed service by midday.

Galarie Géant Mandelieu no longer requires health pass - The health pass is no longer mandatory in one of the six shopping centers in the Alpes Maritimes. The Nice administrative court has ruled that the “Galarie Géant Mandlieu” will no longer require the health pass. It does however remain in force at Cap 3000, Auchan La Trinité and in the three Carrefour stores in Nice and Antibes.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence in black – Saint-Paul-de-Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, well known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries has denounced its absence in the classification as an International Tourist Zone (ZTI), which allows shops to open on Sundays and until midnight.

Local traders draped a black sheet over their shopfronts and on the village fountain on Wednesday demanding a support plan from the tourism sector to preserve the economic cultural and artistic activity of the town after many shops have suffered from the covid crisis and the absence of foreign tourists who represent more than 65% of their turnover.  

Football match between Nice and Marseille to be replayed - The Professional Football League has decided that, following the incidents which occurred during the match between Nice and Marseille, on August 22nd, the match will be replayed on neutral ground and behind closed doors.

National News

November 13th trial – On the first day of the trial of the November 2015 attacks, Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the commandos who carried out the attack six years ago in the French capital, presented himself as "a fighter of the Islamic State". During Wednesday’s hearing Abdeslam was asked by the president of the court, who is leading the final trial of his career, to confirm the names of his parents to which he replied "the names of my father and mother have no relevance in this courthouse". Then asked, "What was your profession before your arrest?" He replied "I gave up any profession to become an ISIS fighter." Unperturbed by his answer the president retorted "I had noted 'interim'.

Salah Abdeslam has been almost silent since his arrest in Belgium in March 2016 after more than four months on the run and is the main suspect, accused of having been part of the commandos which killed 130 dead and more than 350 wounded on November 13, 2015.

National tribute to Jean Paul Belmondo – France will pay a national tribute to the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, who died on Monday at the age of 88. French President Emmanuel Macron will lead the ceremony at 4.30pm this afternoon in the Cour d'honneur of the Hôtel des Invalides, followed by a minute of silence and the Marseillaise. The public will be able to pay their respects in front of his coffin from 7.30pm this evening at the Invalides.

Torrential rain – Agen in south western France has been hit by torrential rainfall, flooding several streets in the city center on Wednesday evening. The equivalent of two months of rain fell in just three hours.

Business

Major US airlines are set to announce that they will back a voluntary industry target of 3 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel in 2030 as the White House looks to reduce aviation sector emissions. The industry trade group, Airlines for America had set a 2030 goal of producing and deploying 2 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel made from feedstocks such as cooking oil and animal fats. At present, it only accounts for a tiny fraction of overall jet fuel use. The White House is holding a sustainable aviation event later today. Reports say that Airlines for America which represents Delta airlines, American Airlines and others will pledge to work with the US government to help rapidly expand production and deployment of commercially viable sustainable aviation fuel.

The UK is on course to drop out of Germany’s top-10 trading partners. Great Britain has been one of Germany’s top-10 trading partners since 1950. However, with Brexit related issues mounting, Britain looks set to drop to 11th place before the end of the year. The German Federal Statistics Office says that Germans spent 11% or some 13.8 billion pounds less on British goods in the first six months of 2021. Customs checks since the UK left the European single market at the end of 2020 have been complicating trade and more and more small and medium-sized German companies are ceasing to trade in Britain because of the hurdles. Agriculture and pharmaceuticals have been particularly hard hit with imports down by 80% and 50% respectively. Before Brexit, the UK was Germany’s fifth most important trading partner. The UK Department for International Trade is yet to comment.

Several Federal Reserve policymakers have hinted that the central bank remains on track to trimming its massive asset purchases this year despite the slowdown in jobs growth seen in August and the impact of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. In an interview with the Financial Times, the President of the St Louis Fed Bank James Bullard said that “the big picture is that the taper will get going this year and will end sometime by the first half of 2020”. Mr Bullard dismissed concerns that the labor market recovery was faltering after the US economy created the fewest jobs in seven months in August. He said the labor market could be very strong going into next year if the fight against the pandemic continues to improve. Other Fed officials have also said that they support a gradual winding down of  monthly asset purchases starting in October.

What's On Guide

One of the Riviera's major events, the Cannes Yachting Festival is underway until this Sunday, 12 September. This year's show features almost 600 boats from 3 to 45 meters as well as 430 exhibitors and is taking place in the old port and Port Canto. Visitors will need to purchase their e-tickets online only, there are no tickets on sale at the entrances this year and you'll need to present a health pass. You can get more details on https://www.cannesyachtingfestival.com

If you fancy reading a good book, why not try the long-established English American Library of Nice. They are selling off second copies and used books and ask for a donation of 1 euro per book taken. They have about 400 fiction and non-fiction books on sale. The sales are taking place on two Saturdays this month - the 11th and the 18th from 10am to midday. You can find the library by going to rue de la Buffa in Nice and taking the entrance to the Anglican church.

There's a new virtual reality experience in Nice that allows you to discover some of the world's greatest nature reserves in 360 degree video. "Wild Immersion" is taking place at Parc Phoenix on the Promenade des Anglais until 24 November. Films between 10 and 15 minutes long are played via virtual reality headsets to transport you to see wildlife in Asia, the Far North or the African savannah. For more details and entry prices see the website https://www.parc-phoenix.org/

The Masters 55 + International Field Hockey tournament is taking place this weekend in Antibes La Fontonne at ASF Antibes Hockey at 56 boulevard Beau Rivage. It's France against Spain on Friday at 5pm, Spain against Ireland on Saturday at 3pm and France against Ireland at 10am on Sunday. More details at http://www.antibeshockey.com/

Sport

Tennis – Emma Raducanu has reached the semi finals of the US Open following a straight sets victory over the 11th seed Belinda Bencic. The 18-year-old British sensation showed quality and composure as she saw off her opponent 6–3 6–4. The victory means that she becomes the British number one and sets up a last four meeting with Maria Sakkari of Greece. She beat the 4th seed Karolina Pliskova.

In the men’s event Alexander Zverev is into the semifinals after beating Lloyd Harris of South Africa in straight sets.

Football – England lost their 100% World Cup qualifying record last night as they were held to a 1–1 draw away at Poland. In other results Northern Ireland and Switzerland drew 0–0 and Wales against Estonia ended 0-0.

Formula One – Alexander Albon will return to the grid next season after picking up the vacant seat at Williams. The 25-year-old lost his seat at Red Bull last year and has spent this season as their reserve driver. He’ll replace George Russell who’s moving to Mercedes. Williams have also announced that Nicholas Latifi will stay with the team for a third consecutive season.

Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen will miss this weekend‘s Italian Grand Prix following his positive test for COVID-19. The 41-year-old Finn had to sit out the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend and will be replaced again by Robert Kubica.

Golf – The US Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker thinks that his six rookies will help to bring the Cup back to “where it belongs”. Daniel Berger, Scottie Scheffler, Harris English and Xander Schauffele are among the wildcards to add to Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay. Stricker says that all are a great fit for Whistling Straits and that he is “super excited” about the chances of the US team.

Europe have won nine of the past 12 Ryder Cups and are the defending champions. The European team captained by Padraig Harrington will be confirmed on Sunday after the conclusion of the BMW championship at Wentworth.

Weather

Partially cloudy with moderate easterly winds. Top temperatures 26-27 degrees. Overnight lows of 20-22 degrees with partially cloudy skies.

Friday and the start of the weekend - Sunshine and occasional afternoon showers tomorrow. Fine on Saturday. Highs of 26-28 degrees.

And Finally 

A study has suggested that listening to Beethoven could leave you reaching for the biscuit tin. Nearly 800 participants listened to 20 tracks from four types of music – classical, jazz, hip-hop and rock/metal. After hearing each song, they were asked to rate on a scale their intention to eat 16 food items and their emotional state during the track. They felt calmer when listening to classical music and preferred sweet foods.

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