French and Riviera News Tuesday 15th June 2021

News 

Vaccination opens today for 12 to 17-year olds – The vaccination against covid is open from today Tuesday 15th June, for 12-17-year old’s and is on a voluntary basis, with the consent of both parents and the minor concerned. Appointments can be made via the usual online booking platforms, as for an adult. The vaccination of adolescents must be done in a vaccination center, and not in pharmacies as is now possible for adults.

Number of people getting vaccinated drops sharply - Meanwhile figures published have shown that the uptake for vaccination in France has dropped sharply, with some centres remaining desperately empty. In mid-June, 45.5% of French people received at least a first dose of the vaccine. A figure insufficient to achieve collective immunity.

France’s first match of Euro 2020 – And France will enter the Euro 2020 competition tonight against Germany. With the 11pm curfew in place France’s Minister of the Interior has asked prefects to show "particular leniency" with regard to people returning home after the match.

In other news

Beaches in Corsica closed due to oil slick - At least five beaches in southern Corsica have been affected by an oil slick. The beaches have been closed to the public with a ban on swimming in place. The marine oil pollution was spotted on Friday, June 11th. An investigation has been opened and handed over to the Maritime Gendarmerie to find out more about the circumstances of the pollution.

Residency permit for British nationals - The Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes has reminded British nationals and their families settled in France before January 1st, 2021, that they have until July 1st, 2021 to complete their formalities to obtain a "withdrawal agreement" residence permit. Details can be found on the French Interior Ministry's website.

“Bac Blanquer” - Nearly 21,000 high school students from the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes, will be preparing to sit their philosophy baccalaureate this Thursday June 17th with the oral on June 21st.  For this first edition of the "Bac Blanquer", disrupted by the health crisis, the continuous assessment will represent at least 82% of the final mark of the exam, the written philosophy test and that of the oral corresponding to the remaining 18%. The specialty tests, which were to be held for the first time in March, have been cancelled in favor of continuous assessment.

Kitesurfing - A kitesurf instructor from Cannes, in the Alpes-Maritimes, has set up training to carry out rescue operations. Kitesurfing is a popular but dangerous sport with rescue operations regularly taking place. These interventions require a good knowledge of the equipment and in particular the inflatable sail. To help surfers in distress swimmers from the SNSM (National Society for Rescue at Sea) from Cannes-Golfe Juan, in the Alpes-Maritimes, are being trained by a kitesurf instructor. Last year, the SNSM of Cannes and Golfe Juan rescued 6 kitesurfers in distress.

Take care in the sun - As temperatures rise across France doctors have called for extra care to be taken when exposing yourself to the sun. Recent figures have shown that with more than 1,300 new cases of skin cancer each year, Brittany is the region the worst affected with three times more cases than the rest of France.

Bouturothèque opens in Valbonne - A “bouturothèque” has opened at the media library in Valbonne, in the Alpes-Maritimes, making it possible to exchange plants in the middle of books. Each visitor can drop of their plant cuttings and leave with another. The objective: is to bring a little greenery amongst the bookshelves and create an exchange amongst all ages of the public.

Business

The United States and Europe are heading towards a pact to end a 17-year old dispute over aircraft subsidies. Reports say that a deal to either end or pause the world’s largest corporate trade dispute will give relief to dozens of other industries affected by tit for tat tariffs that were suspended in March. If there is no progress, a renewed trade war could start within weeks. United States and European trade negotiators held a meeting in Brussels on Monday ahead of today’s US-EU summit. The European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy and the United States are keen to find a solution to the dispute by the 11th of July when the current suspension of transatlantic tariffs com