News
Man, attacks health workers in French hospital - Police have opened an investigation “for attempted murder” following an attack on a nurse and a medical secretary by a 59-year-old man at the University Hospital of Reims. The attack occurred shortly before 1.30pm on Monday in a changing room of the hospital. The two victims have been hospitalised with serious injuries. The individual attempted to flee the scene before being arrested by hospital security officers. According to France’s Health Minister who has visited staff at the hospital, the attacker appeared to have acted without any apparent motive and was known to police having been previously charged in Châlons-en-Champagne "for acts of aggravated violence". In a press release the French Hospital Federation (FHF) has stressed that "in recent years this kind of aggression in public hospitals in France was becoming an all too familiar scene with acts of violence targeting caregivers on the rise”. Last year 37% of health professionals said they had been victims.
Third shooting in Marseille in less than 48 hours - Another shooting has broken out in Marseille on Monday evening injuring at least six people. The incident took place in the 15th arrondissement at around 11pm close to a mosque and a grocery store. Of the six people injured, one of them is reported in a life-threatening condition, a young man of 21 who was shot in the head and who is not from the neighbourhood. Two other victims suffered leg injuries. The shooting comes just one day after the death of three young men in their twenties, who were killed by Kalashnikov fire in the 11th arrondissement and another shooting which took place on Sunday evening causing a slight injury.
Missing person - Police in the Var have appealed following the worrying disappearance of 51-year-old Daniel Ventre, who has not been seen since May 12th. Daniel left his home in Cuers on May 12th, without giving any news of his whereabouts. He is described as being of normal build with brown hair. Anyone with any information is invited to contact 04.94.28.60.27 or 17.
Woman bursts onto the red carpet in Cannes - A woman dressed in the colours of the Ukrainian flag has burst onto the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. The incident occurred on Sunday evening. The woman appeared on the steps and proceeded to cover herself in fake blood to reportedly “denounce sexual violence in Ukraine”. The stunt happened just ahead of the out of competition screening, of the French film “Acide”.
Civil security exercise at Avenue 83 shopping centre - The prefecture has announced that a civil security exercise will be taking place this evening in the northern part of the Avenue 83 shopping centre in Valletta near Toulon. Police have advised the public to avoid the area during the public safety exercise. It should also be noted that parking in the north car park is prohibited from 4:30pm today, bus services on the University Avenue will be diverted from 6pm and the 3 roundabouts in the area will be blocked. The southern part of Avenue 83 (the cinema and restaurants) will not however, be affected.
La Victorine Nice - A film studio in Nice has been selected as one of the winners to receive a total of €350 million in state support for France's film and video games industries. La Victorine was one of the winning candidates for the state aid, with the announcement of the winners timed to coincide with the Cannes film festival. ESRA audio-visual school in Nice and a local video games school, Isart, also made the winners' list. Across France, 68 film and animation studios, video games makers, training establishments and special effects and post-production studios will receive funding. It's part of a broader plan, called France 2030, to boost the country's economy, which included about €1 billion set aside for culture. According to the French government, every euro invested in shooting and making a film in France generates almost €8 in economic benefits.
Association “Objectif Monaco” - A Monegasque economic association “Objectif Monaco” has called for "more transparency" on the content of negotiations between Europe and the princely government. Created in February and bringing together 500 members, mainly from the economic world, the "Objectif Monaco" association says it “wishes to see more transparency and information given on the content of the discussions”. Members of Objectif Monaco are made up of accountants, doctors, architects, lawyers, but also those from the real estate and construction sectors, as well as families of Monegasques and residents. Their goal they say is to “provide a concrete and pragmatic vision of the potential impacts of an agreement or non-agreement in the negotiations in progress with the European Union” aiming, “to take negotiations out of a strictly political approach”.
New tool on WhatsApp allows you to edit message - WhatsApp now comes with an option to edit a message. Ever sent a message too quickly on WhatsApp? Well now there is no need to delete it, as a new function now allows you to just modify the message. The tool is in addition to the possibility of deleting a message already sent in a conversation. The recipient (or the discussion group) will however, be able to see that the message has been modified.
Business
US President Joe Biden and top Republican Kevin McCarthy have called their latest talks on the debt ceiling productive but no deal has yet been reached. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has reiterated that the US will likely default on its debt as early as 1 June. The debt ceiling is a spending limit set by Congress which determines how much money the government can borrow. Failure to raise it beyond the current cap of roughly $31.4tn (£25.2tn) by June could result in the US defaulting on its debt.
TikTok has sued to block the US state of Montana from banning residents from accessing its social media platform. Monday's lawsuit comes after last week Montana became the first US state to pass a sweeping ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform. In a statement, TikTok said the ban conflicts with US free speech rights. TikTok has come under scrutiny from authorities a
