National News France
Macron warns that “a zero risk of an attack never exists” when asked about the Paris Olympics - Asked about the security in the run-up to the Paris Olympic Games during a visit to Guyana on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that a “zero risk never exists” before adding that “France is doing everything in its power to prevent it”. Following the attack on a concert hall in Moscow, the President of the Republic assured children during his visit to Guyana that France "is and will be ready" for the Paris Olympic Games from July 26th to August 11th, but that “zero risk” does not exist. On Sunday it was announced that the “Vigipirate plan” had been raised to its maximum on French territory.
Interest in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is low according to survey -Meanwhile, according to a survey the interest that the French have for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is low. Only 37% are waiting for the event "impatiently" and this figure drops to 30% for anticipation about the Paralympic Games. Among the French people questioned by the polling institute, only 14% said they were waiting with “a lot of impatience” for the next Olympics. A percentage which rises to 55% for those who consider themselves “passionate” about sport. 4% of those questioned say they are not interested in the Games, other than the opening ceremony.
Local
Freediver disappears in the bay of Villefranche - A freediver has disappeared in the bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer. An extensive search was carried out at sea on Monday to find the 40-year-old who had been missing since the morning, the search was suspended at around 2pm on Monday afternoon due to poor weather conditions and is expected to resume today, if weather conditions allow. It was worried relatives who had alerted CrossMed of the disappearance.
Weather warning - Météo France has issued a yellow weather warning due to strong winds with gust of up to 100km an hour in both the Var and the west of the Alpes Maritimes. The warning was issued at midnight on Monday and is in place until 2pm this afternoon. The windy episode is expected to be followed by a Mediterranean episode with heavy rain from this evening through until tomorrow morning. Sunshine is expected to return by Wednesday afternoon and last until Thursday evening with showers returning on Friday and into the weekend.
IMSEE report - A new report by IMSEE has shown that in 2023 Monaco’s population rose by 1.1% standing at 9,790 Monegasques. As reported on Riviera Radio, it was on March 14th that the town hall of Monaco held a ceremony welcoming 68 people who had acquired Monegasque citizenship in 2023. In addition, 104 new babies holding Monegasque citizenship were born last year. Finally, the report also showed that the average life expectancy in the Principality is close to 87 years, which rises to 90 for female nationals.
New bus service - A new bus service has been launched in Monaco for residents in neighbourhoods not currently served by a regular bus line. ClicBus is an on-demand bus service, operated by eight-seater electric mini-buses, and can be booked online or via an app. It'll run from 7am to 9pm and will ferry passengers to Place d'Armes, Fontvieille, Place des Moulins or the Casino Square.
Zidane visits old friend in Valbonne - Former French footballer Zinédine Zidane has been visiting Valbonne. Zidane was on a discreet trip to the picturesque village last week for the birthday of his friend the master glassmaker and restaurant owner Ahmed Loumani. Their friendship dates back to Zizou’s time at AS Cannes and they have remained friends ever since.
Business
The EU has announced investigations into some of the biggest tech firms in the world over uncompetitive practices. Meta, Apple, and Alphabet, which owns Google, are being looked into for potential breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) introduced in 2022. If they are found to have broken the rules, the firms can face huge fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover.
Boeing boss Dave Calhoun is to leave at the end of the year amid a deepening crisis over the firm's safety record. Boeing also said that the head of its commercial airlines division will retire immediately while its chairman will not stand for re-election. The firm is under pressure after an unused door blew out of a Boeing 737 Max in January shortly after take-off. No-one was injured but the firm's safety and quality control standards came under renewed scrutiny.
A former president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), Chen Xuyuan, has been sentenced to life in prison for bribery, according to the country's state media. In January, he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes totalling 81 million yuan ($11.2m; £8.9m). In football, more than a dozen coaches and players have been investigated.
Sport
Football – In the European Championships play off this evening Wales play Poland; Ukraine face Iceland and Georgia play Greece.
Meanwhile in the Premier League Nottingham Forest have lodged an appeal against their four-point deduction for breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules. An independent commission found Forest's losses to 2022-23 breached the threshold of £61m by £34.5m.The loss of points has placed Forest into the relegation zone in 18th place, one point behind Luton Town.
Tennis - Andy Murray says he will be out for "an extended period" following the ankle injury he sustained at the Miami Open.
Rugby Union - England and Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care has announced his retirement from international rugby. The 37-year-old played in all five of England's Six Nations matches this year and earned his 100th cap in the 23-22 win over Ireland on 9 March. Care, who has a record 369 Harlequins appearances, said: "To play for England once was a dream come true”.
Weather
Météo France has issued a yellow weather warning due to strong winds with gust of up to 100km an hour in both the Var and the west of the Alpes Maritimes. The warning was issued at midnight on Monday and is in place until 2pm this afternoon. The windy episode is expected to be followed by a Mediterranean episode with heavy rain from this evening through until tomorrow morning.
Cloudy with a fresh breeze. Highs of 15 degrees in Nice 13 degrees in Monaco. Strong winds and highs of 13 degrees in Antibes, Saint-Tropez and Toulon. This evening going down to 10 degrees along the coast with cloudy skies.
The outlook for Wednesday and Thursday. Sunshine is expected to return by Wednesday afternoon and last until Thursday evening with showers returning on Friday and into the weekend. Highs of 15-18 degrees.
Sunrise 06.22am
Sunset 06.50pm
Sea temperature
Antibes 14.8°
Weather elsewhere
Cardiff 11° light rain.
Bordeaux 11° heavy rain.
Palma 18° light rain.
And Finally ……
British cooking has been ranked 18th out of 60 countries in an annual survey by Anholt-Ipsos where 60,000 people in 20 countries, were asked for their views on 60 nations and their food. However, it would appear that the French aren’t having any of it after placing Britain 60th as for them “la cuisine Britannique – c’est nul”. According to Michel Roux Jr, the English French owner of Le Gavroche, which closed in January after 56 years. The problem is “deep-rooted and goes back a long way to when food in Britain was just boiled meats, vegetables boiled to death and cranberry jelly and mint sauce and all those horror stories”. Roux went on to say that, "historically, the stereotype still lingers, but the younger generation, the ones that have travelled to the UK, they know that isn’t true.” His father, Albert Roux, opened a British restaurant in Paris, Bertie’s, serving roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. “People were queuing – it was very successful,” said Roux. “I honestly believe now that London rubs shoulders with any other gastronomic city in the world. It’s certainly no longer the laughingstock – I think the French are just poking a stick at us.”
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