National News France
Strike action - Civil servants in France have called for strike action today Tuesday 19th March, demanding better salary conditions. No less than eight unions in the sector are calling on the 5.7 million agents to stop working. A national demonstration is planned in Paris, and rallies are to take place in other departments.
Recall on mincemeat sold in French supermarkets - Several brands of minced meat sold in supermarkets across France have been recalled due to contamination with E.coli bacteria. The recalled batches, labelled 40595076, should not be consumed and can be returned to the relevant point of sale. The government website Rappel Conso announced that the mince was sold in several supermarket brands in France between February 29th and March 5th. For more information go to https://rappel.conso.gouv.fr/fiche-rappel/14066/Interne
Local News
Workman killed on construction site in Nice - An investigation has been opened after a workman was killed on a construction site in Nice. The fatal incident occurred on Monday afternoon when the victim was killed by a falling object from the 7th floor of a building. The man, aged around fifty was fatally injured and died at the scene.
SNCF - The SNCF and the Paca region have set out some of the major improvement works they're due to make to the local rail network this year. As part of a nationwide investment programme into rail travel, the Paca region will be spending €350 million on about 50 renovation projects. Among them, later this year, there will be major overnight engineering works to upgrade the power lines between Nice and Menton, at a cost of almost €10 million. Another €78 million is being spent on improvements to the line from Nice to Breil-sur-Roya, which will be closed from this September until the end of 2025, with replacement buses instead. During one long bank holiday weekend this November, only three in 10 TGVs will run between Nice and Paris, and at a reduced speed. Those works are for the implementation of what's called the European Rail Traffic Management System, which will eventually increase capacity on the mainline while making train travel safer. Meanwhile, some of the region's 150 rail stations, including Villefranche, Menton and Cagnes-sur-Mer, will be modernised to make them more accessible.
Road Menton to Sospel -The road from Menton to Sospel is expected to reopen at the end of next week, after it was cut off by a landslide last Wednesday. The Alpes-Maritimes departmental council says work is under way to clear the debris and secure the rockface. Next week it will install temporary traffic lights on the RD2566, otherwise known as the Route de Monti, allowing traffic to pass in one direction at a time. Until then, a diversion is in place via Castellar. A complete reopening of the road to Sospel isn't likely for another three weeks at least.
Stair race - If you live in or have visited Beausoleil, you'll know it's a town that's serious about public staircases. The town, bordering Monaco, has 66 flights of stairs - and every year athletes race to see who can get from the bottom of Beausoleil to the top in the fastest time. The course is made up of five steep staircases over a distance of 350 metres. There are 427 steps in total - that's a climb of 70 metres, the equivalent of a 27-storey building. The next edition of the Beausoleil stair race takes place this coming Saturday from 10am on the Boulevard de la République and is open to all. There'll be an individual race and a relay for those wanting to share the challenge with others. You need to register in advance on sport-up.fr. Last year, the men's race was won in just 1 minute 27 seconds - one second short of beating the all-time record.
Jazz à Juan - Twenty-three solo artists and groups have been announced as present at this summer’s Jazz à Juan and amongst them will be Toto, Kool and the Gang and Pink Martini. The 63rd legendary festival takes place from July 8th to 18th and for more information and tickets go to https://jazzajuan.com/
Congratulations to our partners at “La Table du Castellet” on their top award from Michelin - Finally, a record 52 restaurants in France, including 23 which only opened in the past year, have been awarded one or more Michelin stars for the first time. At the launch of its 115th edition on Monday well over half of the chefs were under the age of 40. One of them, 35-year-old Fabien Ferré received the top award of three stars at his first attempt. Ferré, who took over the kitchen of La Table du Castellet in the southern Var department just last year and becomes France’s youngest tri-stellar cook. Riviera Radio would like to congratulate Ferré and remind listeners that this week’s give away in collaboration with the Hotel du Castellet, is offering you the chance to win one night for two in this beautiful and luxurious hotel. How to Enter: just fill out the Giveaway Form on our website. Remember, the clock is ticking! Entries close at midday on Friday.
Here in the Principality it’s also congratulations to the restaurant Les Ambassadeurs by Christophe Cussac which won its second star in the Michelin Guide.
Business
For the first time in 17 years Japan's central bank has raised the cost of borrowing. The increase comes as wages have jumped after consumer prices rose. The hike means that there are no longer any countries left with negative interest rates. The latest official figures showed that even though the rate of price rises has been slowing, Japan's core consumer inflation held at the bank's 2% target in January.
Struggling Chinese property giant Evergrande and its founder, Hui Ka Yan, have been accused of inflating revenues by $78bn (£61.6bn) in the two years before the firm defaulted on its debt. In January, Evergrande was ordered to liquidate by a Hong Kong court. Evergrande has been the poster child of China's real estate crisis with more than $300bn of debt. Liquidators have been appointed to look at Evergrande's overall financial position and identify potential restructuring strategies.
Meanwhile, British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is appearing in court in the US, as his trial on fraud charges gets under way. Once dubbed "Britain's Bill Gates", Mr Lynch is accused of overinflating the value of his software firm when he sold it to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The 58-year-old, who faces 16 charges, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. He denies the claims. He was extradited to the US last year, after a UK judge ruled in favour of HP in a similar civil fraud case.
And - JD Sports has come under fire for posting an advert showing motorcyclists wearing trainers - footwear deemed unsuitable for riding a motorbike. The advertising watchdog has received more than 40 complaints about the ad for Nike Air Max 95s, which also features stunts such as wheelies. Motorcycle groups criticised JD Sports for promoting "inappropriate" footwear and "irresponsible" riding. The company defended its ad and said it takes health and safety very seriously. The sportswear retailer posted the ad on Facebook on 4 March.
Sport
Football - Nottingham Forest have dropped into the relegation zone due to a points deduction. The club has been docked four points for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules. The immediate loss of points means they drop below Luton Town into the Premier League's relegation zone.
Meanwhile, the UK government will establish an independent football regulator when the Football Governance Bill is introduced in Parliament today. The legislation will grant powers to a body, independent of both government and football authorities, to oversee clubs in England's top five tiers. The government announced plans to appoint a regulator in February 2023, following a fan-led review in 2022. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it is "a historic moment for football fans".
Cycling - Britain's most successful female Olympian, Dame Laura Kenny, has announced her retirement from cycling. The 31-year-old won five Olympic golds and seven World Championship titles in a distinguished career on the track.
Weather
Sunny with light winds and highs of 17 degrees in Nice and Antibes. 19-20 degrees in Marseille. 16 degrees in Saint-Tropez and Saint-Paul-de-Vence. This evening doing down to 10 degrees along the coast with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow and Thursday. Fine and sunny high of between 16-17 degrees.
Sunrise 06.34am
Sunset 06.41pm
Sea temperature
Cannes 14.4°
Weather elsewhere
Liverpool 13° light rain.
Palma 20° sunny.
Oslo 2° light snow.
And Finally
A team of New York scientists say they are working to make an 'anti-menopause shot' available to all women in the US. Campaigners have long called for a wider range of treatments for women experiencing the symptoms of the menopause such as hot flashes, brain fog and debilitating fatigue. While replacing the lost sex hormones with hormone replacement therapy is effective for some, it doesn't curb all the symptoms. However, what if you could delay, or even prevent, the hormonal change from happening altogether?
TGV services across much of France are gradually improving after several arson attacks affected the network in the early hours of this morning....
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Paris is getting ready to shut down it’s city centre and its airspace as well as mobilise 45,000 police and several army units in what has been billed...
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Lucie Castets, the left-wing candidate for Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to lead the government during a media appearance on July 25. A poll s...
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French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to welcome world leaders to the Olympic games opening ceremony tomorrow night and has been visiting key ...
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France will host the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alpes, conditional on state and regional financial guarantees. President Macron confirmed his full su...
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