News
Strike action - GPs in France have begun a second week of strike action. Following a first strike on December 1st and 2nd, the collective “Doctors for tomorrow” had called for the closure of surgeries from December 26th to January 2nd however, strike action has since been extended for another week.
Road accident - Two people have been injured in a road accident in the Var. The accident occurred on Monday on the road between the village of Grimaud and the seafront. Traffic was interrupted as emergency services intervened. The two individuals in their early 20s were taken to hospital. Police have opened an investigation into the cause.
Scam - Authorities on the Côte d’Azur have warned motorists of a new scam concerning the Crit'Air sticker. In recent days several people have received, an SMS inviting them to receive, as soon as possible, a Crit'Air sticker, now needed to be able to circulate in the low emission zone of Nice. While since January 1st, motorists whose car is classified as Crit'Air 5 are, in theory, excluded from the low emission zone of Nice, a wave of Crit'Air sticker scams are circulating. on the Riviera. If you receive this message, you are advised not to reply, but to also report the emails to "Signal Spam" and the SMS via 33 700.
As a reminder, the official government website, which is the only site for any procedures for the Crit’Air sticker is: www.certificat-air.gouv.fr. Sticker are sent to motorists after having paid a price of 3 euros 70.
Crit’Air in Nice - Since January 1st. Professionals with a Crit’Air 4 commercial vehicle and, henceforth, individuals with a Crit’Air 5 sticker on their windscreen are banned from driving in certain zones. Speaking to local media the deputy mayor of Nice Gael Nofri explained that these are "pre-2000 diesels" and that it concerns "300 vehicles on the perimeter of the ZFE". Driving in a ZFE with an unauthorized vehicle or without a Crit'Air sticker can lead to a fine of up to €450. In general, this is a fixed fine of €68. However, Nofri added that “the city of Nice will not introduce municipal police to control the ban when the state which introduced the ban refuses to mobilize its own national police to do so".
Road works - Due to the widening of the A57 motorway in Toulon in the Var, Vinci Autoroutes has warned of overnight disruptions this week. For motorists travelling eastbound towards Nice due to the closure of the tunnel drivers must take the exit ramp from Toulon le Port interchange (n°16) and those heading westbound towards Marseille must exit at the Toulon Centre slip road (n°17). The disruptions will reportedly only concern night-time traffic.
Mild weather - 2023 has begun with a new wave of mild weather with some records in temperature being recorded for January 1st. According to Météo France, on New Year's Day, the national thermal indicator stood at 13.3 degrees, that’s 7.6 degrees more than normal. January 1st, 2023 was the fourth hottest day since 1947 over the period from December 15th to January 15th. 2022 was the hottest year on record in France, as well as in Spain and the UK.
Business
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that a third of the global economy will be in recession this year adding that 2023 will be "tougher" than last year as the US, EU and China see their economies slow. It comes as the war in Ukraine, rising prices, higher interest rates and the spread of Covid in China weigh on the global economy. In October the IMF cut its global economic growth outlook for 2023 due to the war in Ukraine as well as higher interest rates as central banks around the world attempt to rein in rising prices.
Electric car maker Tesla says it delivered a record 1.3m vehicles last year, 40% more than in 2021. The news comes after the company delivered more than 405,000 vehicles in the last three months of 2022. The company is scheduled to announce financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole on 25th January.
And – In the UK people returning to work this week after the Christmas break are being urged to avoid travelling by rail because of strikes. Network Rail - which maintains the rails, signals and stations - said the combination of strikes will result in only about 20% of services running, with many areas not seeing any trains at all. Services across England, Scotland and Wales could be affected by the strikes.
Sport
Football - Liverpool gave what has been described as “a poor performance” on Monday as Brentford won 3-1 meaning the Reds missed the chance to close in on the Premier League's top four. Meanwhile, Brentford are unbeaten in six games - their best run in the topflight for more than 80 years - and climb to seventh.
This evening in the Premier League Arsenal are at home to Newcastle. Everton play Brighton, Leicester face Fulham and Manchester United play Bournemouth.
And - thousands of mourners have gathered to pay their respects to Brazil legend Pele who is lying in state at the ground of his former club Santos. Pele's coffin was placed in the centre of the pitch with fans lining the streets to get inside the ground. The three-time World Cup winner died at the age of 82 on 29 December. There will be a procession through the streets of Santos to a private family burial on Tuesday.
Tennis - Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with both throat and breast cancer. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who previously had breast cancer in 2010, will start treatment in New York later this month. Navratilova, 66, said both cancers had been caught at an early stage.
Rugby Union - Matt Proudfoot has left his role as England forwards coach less than a month after Eddie Jones' departure as head coach. Jones was sacked by the Rugby Football Union after a disappointing 2022, with Steve Borthwick hired as his successor. A South Africa-born former Scotland international, Proudfoot took on the forwards coach role in January 2020. He previously served as a Springboks assistant in their 2019 World Cup win.
Weather
Cloudy with a chance of some scattered showers inland. Highs of 16 degrees in Nice, Monaco, Cannes and Saint Tropez with a gentle breeze. This evening going down to 9 degrees along the coast and 5 degrees inland.
The outlook for Wednesday and Thursday sunny intervals highs of 16 degrees.
Sunrise: 08.04hr
Sunset: 17.06hr
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