Local
Street artists in Nice - As part of a new measure to reduce noise levels in several areas of Nice, the city council has announced that all street artists will have to register with the town hall and respect new regulations. As part of the new measure ,street musicians will be limited to playing up to two hours in the same place. The new measure has faced criticism with more than 10,000 people signing a petition. Artists have until the 27th May to register online.
Yellow vest - A judge in Draguignan has ordered the seizure of property belonging to a “yellow vest” protestor following an investigation. Two yellow vest protestors were arrested on May 13th and placed in police custody accused of destroying speed cameras on the A8 motorway in the Var. Identified on CCTV cameras, the two men were placed in pre-trial detention. The judge has since asked that the assets of one of the men, primarily three apartments with an estimated value of 175,000 euros be seized. The estimated cost of damage caused by the two protestors is 233,000 euros.
Nice Foundation - An association in Nice has provided sixty computers to people in financial difficulty.Since 2018 the Nice Foundation has made it possible for those in financial difficulty to acquire a computer at a low cost. Whether it’s for paying taxes, bills or making an appointment, today computers are part of our daily lives and it can be a real difficulty for those who are unable to equip themselves.
Strike action - Taxi drivers in Nice have filed a strike notice for next Tuesday, the 28th of May. The drivers are protesting at what they see as unfair competition from VCT vehicles, including Uber.
The French national gendarmerie has revealed that an extensive criminal network in our region has been dismantled. The network involved the theft of vehicles. Forces from Marseille as well as national law enforcement personnel were involved in the operation. Vehicles were allegedly dismantled and the parts sold in central and eastern Europe.
Monaco Grand Prix and Top Marques - Employees of the SNCF French rail network have met ahead of this year’s Monaco Grand Prix to ensure a good service. 150,000 passengers are expected during the four day event from May 23rd to May 26th.
Meanwhile the Monaco government has announced new security measures to protect public order during the Top Marques car show which takes place here in the Principality. The government says that in view of what it calls the nuisances and incivilities on the sidelines of previous editions of Top Marques, the Prince's Government has decided to reinforce its legal arsenal in order to effectively fight disturbances in public order as well as the irresponsible behaviour of many drivers. Top Marques takes place at the Grimaldi Forum from the 30th of May to the 3rd of June.
Microscopic jellyfish - A familiar scene and unpleasant smell has returned to the region’s beaches from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Antibes, as thousands of microscopic jellyfish have washed up on the beaches. Known as vellum these bright blue sea animals have become accustomed, over the years, to the beaches of the Riviera especially in Villefranche-sur-Mer, Villeneuve-Loubet and Antibes. For some scientists, this is a good sign as it shows that the sea is clean, because they are known to prefer slightly polluted water. On the contrary, others see it as a sign of a decrease in the number of turtles, their main predator.
Cannes Film Festival - American director Quentin Tarantino has written an open letter to all those who will see "Once upon a time ... in Hollywood", presented today in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, asking them not to reveal the content of his film. Tarantino wrote that “the actors and the team have worked hard to create something original, and he wishes that everyone avoids revealing anything that would prevent future viewers from experiencing the same experience in front of the film”.
With more news from the Cannes Film Festival for Riviera Radio here’s Mark Dezzani
The world's most beautiful superyacht - The world's most beautiful cutting-edge superyachts have been honoured at a prestigious awards ceremony in London. Boat International Media's World Superyacht Awards 2019, in association with Oyster Yachts, took place this weekend and it was the 90m (295ft) Dar - a £137.2 million vessel inspired by the shape of a hammerhead shark - which scooped the highly coveted Motor Yacht of the Year award. Other vessels that were recognised at the event ranged from pleasure cruisers to magnificent explorer yachts fit for the harshest of waters.
National
Right to die debate - A French court has ordered doctors to resume life support for Vincent Lambert whose case has become central to the right-to-die debate in France. Doctors had begun switching off life support for Vincent Lambert, on Monday, before the court order. Mr Lambert has been in a vegetative state since a 2008 motorcycle accident. His care has divided the country and his family. His wife has called for his feeding tubes to be withdrawn; his parents insist he be kept alive.
Man climbs Eiffel Tower - A man has been taken into police custody after climbing the Eiffel Tower and reaching the top. The tower was closed on Monday after the man was spotted scaling the structure in the afternoon. Video footage showed him close to the observation deck at the top of the tower. His motivation for climbing the 1,000ft (300m) tower was unclear. The tower will reopen to the public this morning at 9.30am.
Kilogram - A new global definition of the kilogram, adopted in November, has come into effect since Monday. While it will not change your daily life, it marks an important and much-awaited break from the scientific community.
Business
The US government has temporarily eased trade restrictions on Huawei in what’s being seen as a move to minimise disruption for customers.
The Commerce Department says that for the time being , it will allow Huawei to purchase American made goods in order to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei handsets.
Huawei will still be banned from buying US made parts and components to manufacture new products without license approval.
The White House says that’s imposed the new restrictions because of what it decribed as Huawei’s involvement in “activities contrary to national security or foreign policy interests”.
The temporary authorisation is intended to give telecommunications operators that rely on Huawei equipment time to make other arrangements.
Ford has announced that it’s to make 7,000 job cuts by the end of the summer to cut costs.
The plan will reduce the firm’s salaried workforce by 10 percent and will be made through both voluntary and forced redundancies.
Ford said that the cuts would save it 600 million dollars a year.
2,300 of the job losses will come in North America.
Ford is the second big car manufacturer to announce job cuts after General Motors said that it would be shedding 14,000 staff.
The firm’s chief executive Jim Hackett said that the cuts were regrettable but necessary and that Ford had to act in order to succeed in a competitive industry.
And-Japan’s economy grew unexpectedly in the first quarter shrugging off fears about a contraction.
Offical data showed that the economy grew at an annualised rate of 2.1 percent in the quarter to the end of March.
The result went in the face of expectations of a contraction of 0.2 percent as imports fell faster than exports.
Senior economists in Japan said that the surprising resilience at the start of the year will mean that GDP will be stronger in 2019 than initially anticipated.
Sport
Formula 1-The triple Formula 1 champion Niki Lauda has died at the age of 70.
Lauda won the world championship in 1975 and 1977 for Ferrari and for McLaren in 1984.
In 1976 he suffered a horrific crash at the German Grand Prix which left him with severe burns.
Nevertheless he returned to the cockpit just 6 weeks later with his head still bandaged although he couldn’t win the title that year which went to James Hunt.
The injuries sustained in the crash caused the Austrian health problems for the rest of his life.
Last year , he underwent a lung transplant and was admitted to hospital earlier this year suffering from complications from flu.
The 2009 world champion Jenson Button described him as “a legend” while McLaren said in a statement that “Niki will forever be in our hearts and enshrined in our history”.
In recent years ,Niki Lauda had been non-executive chairman of Mercedes where he was instrumental in bringing Lewis Hamilton to the team.
Football-Steve Clarke has been appointed as the new Scotland manager on a three year contract.
Clarke leaves Kilmarnock where he guided the club to a European spot this season to take up the role.
He replaces Alex McLeish who was sacked following a poor run of results earlier this year.
Cricket-England will name their squad for the World Cup later today with spinner Liam Dawson still said to be in contention.
Dawson is vying for a place with the batsman Joe Denly who also bowls some part-time leg-breaks.
David Willey,Tom Curran and Liam Plunkett are thought to be competing for two spots in the squad.
Weather
Partially cloudy with the chance of some showers and a rumble or two of thunder this afternoon.
Moderate westerly winds and a high of 19 degrees Celsius.
Overnight lows of 15 degrees on the coast and 12 degrees inland with partially cloudy skies.
Wednesday and Thursday-Partially cloudy with scattered showers at times.Highs of 18-20 degrees.
A new optional regional transport tax for businesses, introduced in France’s 2025 budget, aims to fund eco-friendly mobility projects. ...
Read More
A judge has authorised a dive to inspect the wreckage of a plane in the sea off Antibes. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean on September 11 1968...
Read More
In France, drinking water is heavily contaminated with "forever pollutants," particularly trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), as revealed by two studies from ...
Read More
The trial of the Tunisian man accused of the murder of three people in the Nice Basilica attack is continuing in Paris. Yesterday the families of the ...
Read More
Four cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region made Booking.com's 2025 list of the "most welcoming destinations in France." ...
Read More
