French and Riviera News Tuesday 2nd November 2021

Local News

Three people still missing after avalanche on a summit in the Everest region - Hope of finding the three missing French mountaineers after an avalanche on a summit in the Everest region is dwindling after several hours of search. 34-year-old Thomas Arfi from Nice is amongst the three men, who have not yet been located. The three climbers, missing since October 26th, belong to the National Mountaineering Excellence Group, an elite French formation.

Monaco opens free covid screening campaign for those returning from holiday - In order to avoid a possible epidemic rebound when returning from holidays, as experienced in the past, the princely government here in Monaco is opening a new free Covid-19 screening campaign from today Tuesday 2nd November. The service will be operational until Sunday 14th November and is aimed at all residents, employees and young people attending schools in the Principality. To benefit from it, no need for a medical prescription. Simply contact the covid-19 call centre on 92 05 55 00 to set up an appointment. And as a reminder the vaccination campaign in Monaco is still ongoing with, in particular, the possibility of benefiting from a 3rd dose for the most vulnerable.

Ni-box in Monaco to be demolished - The current Ni-box in Monaco looks set to be demolished being replaced by a co-working and cultural centre with a rooftop restaurant. Plans for the new building were highlighted at a council meeting with the objective to bring together distinct activities on one single site.

ZEvent raises more than 10 million euros for Action Against Hunger - French President Emmanuel Macron has congratulated the French-speaking streamers who have raised more than ten million euros for Action Against Hunger during this year's edition of the ZEvent. Gathered in Montpellier, for a good cause, their result is unprecedented. For fifty hours, some of the most famous videographers of the Twitch platform took on challenges including making the best pumpkin for Halloween.

Funeral service for pets – A funeral service for pets has been set up in Cannes. 41-year-old Nicolas Requier former financial controller in a casino created AnimalEden last April during lockdown. The service offers a "à la carte funeral service" for your pet.

High-end 4-star mini hotels in the port of Fréjus - High-end, 4-star mini hotels have arrived in the port of Fréjus in the Var. For more than a month, the port has been hosting, three floating hotels dedicated to couples, with a 4-star rating. For 250 euros per night, these are not traditional boats, known rather as houseboats they are moored in the port. With forty-eight square meters of living space, a gigantic double bed, a video projector, a whirlpool bath with views of the terrace and the sea.

National News

Fishing licenses - France has postponed sanctions which were due to come into force today Tuesday 2nd November, over the post-brexit fishing licenses, allowing time for further negotiations until Thursday 4th November. Speaking on Monday Macron said that "it is not while we are negotiating that we will put sanctions". On the side-lines of the COP26 in Glasgow, Emmanuel Macron declared, we want to "give a chance" to the discussions with London. A ministerial meeting, to which is invited the British Secretary of State for Brexit, David Frost, will be held on Thursday in Paris. Since the entry into force of Brexit, London and Paris have clashed over the number of licenses granted to French fishermen. Paris is threatening to ban British fishing vessels from landing their cargoes in French ports and tighten customs controls on all trucks if London does not grant more licences to French fishermen. In the aftermath, the British government welcomed the postponement of French sanctions. 

COP26 – More than 100 countries, including France, will commit to stopping deforestation and "restoring forests" by 2030. An agreement was reached at the COP26 in Glasgow and will be finalised today Tuesday 2nd November. Financial institutions will also participate in this scheme. More than 100 countries, representing more than 85% of the world's forests, will commit to halt and reverse the course of deforestation by 2030. Among the signatories of the agreement are France, Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia. As part of the deal, twelve countries, including France, will commit to jointly mobilize £8.75 billion ($12 billion) of public funds between 2021 and 2025, plus £5.3 billion ($7.2 billion) of private investment.

In addition, the CEOs of more than 30 financial institutions, representing m