National News France
Three men place under investigation in connection with coffins in French capital - Three men have been placed under investigation by French police in connection with leaving five full-sized coffins covered with the French flag at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, each of the coffins was inscribed with “French soldiers in Ukraine” which is believed to be a reference to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, raising the possibility of sending western troops to Ukraine, a suggestion Moscow has described as “dangerous”. For the time being no avenue has been ruled out, including that of a potential foreign interference.
European elections - France’s prime minister Gabriel Attal has been accused of deliberately seeking to eclipse the head of his party’s list in European elections when he unexpectedly appeared on a stage where she was taking part in a radio debate. Attal interrupted the exchange between the anchor and the head of the ruling party’s list Valérie Hayer. The incident is yet another bump for the ruling party’s campaign in the election, with polls showing that the National Rally far right party are so far scoring well in the voting intentions of the French.
Report shows thousands of homeless people being removed ahead of Olympics - A report published by a collective which represents 90 associations has revealed that ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris thousands of homeless people have been removed from the capital and the surrounding area as part of a “clean-up” operation. According to the report those moved on include asylum seekers, as well as families and children already in a precarious and vulnerable situation.
Local News
Road accident - Four children have been seriously injured following a road accident on the A8 motorway on the border between the Var and the Bouches-du-Rhône heading westbound. The accident involving a heavy goods vehicle and a minivan occurred on Monday afternoon. Nearly 40 firefighters were mobilized, and the children aged 4 to 9 years old were airlifted to La Timone hospital in Marseille. An investigation has been opened to determine the cause of the collision.
Cocaine seized at Nice International Airport - Nearly 10 kilos of cocaine has been seized by customs hidden in a blanket in a passenger's suitcase at Nice airport. A Latvian passenger arriving from Brazil via Lisbon was arrested on May 30th and he has since been handed over to the judicial police in Nice. It was just a week before that, on the same route and the same flight from Lisbon, customs officers seized 2 kilos of cocaine again hidden in a blanket, in a Brazilian woman's suitcase.
Forest fire - A forest fire has broken out in Roquebrune-sur-Argens in the Var. Firefighters intervened on Monday afternoon with the blaze affecting one hectare of forest land. The fire was visible from the beaches of Saint-Raphaël.
Driving lessons offered to seniors in Mougins - Driving lessons are to be made available to seniors in Mougins. The CCAS and an association financed by different pension funds have joined forces to set up driving lessons for seniors in order to guarantee their safety on the region’s roads. The initiative will be financed by the Mougins town hall, the CCAS and various pension funds. To find out more you can go to the town hall website.
Rainiest spring since 1959 according to Météo France - Météo France has announced that France experienced its fourth rainiest spring recorded since 1959, with 45% more rain compared to the averages for this time of year. The period corresponds to the months of March, April and May and the Côte d'Azur saw twice as much rain as normal for the time of year.
Celebrations for Johnny Hallyday - Finally, a celebration is to be organized for the late French singer Johnny Hallyday’s 81st birthday and it will be taking place in Marseille and no longer in Paris. Hallyday was born on June 15, 1943, and died in 2017 and to celebrate what would have been his 81st birthday the event will be held at La Major, in Marseille.
Business
Air travel is set to reach a new record of five billion passengers globally. Four years after covid and the industry appears to be experiencing the best year in its history. In France the French are favouring long haul destinations and while opinion polls say the “French want to fly less” the statistics from the Ministry of transport show quite the opposite with international traffic exceeding the pre-Covid level.
Meanwhile, a new rail pass from the SNCF, France’s national rail network, will come into circulation from tomorrow Wednesday 5th June. The 49-euro package will allow travellers under the age of 27 to take unlimited regional (TER) and Intercity trains this summer, in all regions of the country. The SNCF estimates that 700,000 customers will opt for the package which hopes to allow young people to discover some of the beautiful regions of France.
And - According to a new report From Triple A the countries with the most cryptocurrency holders (as a proportion of population) are the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Turkey. 562 million people in the world own cryptocurrencies a figure which represents 6.8% of the world population. The report entitled "The State of Global Cryptocurrency Ownership in 2024" shows that the number of holders increased by 33% compared to 2023. In Europe, 49.2 million people owned cryptocurrencies in 2024, a figure increasing by 60% compared to 2023. On the European side, Switzerland is in the lead (with 11.5% of the population holding cryptos). However, the report does not mention France which, according to another study carried out by Adan, has 12% of crypto holders. Finally, the typical profile of cryptocurrency holder is young (34% of them are between 25 and 34 years old) and mostly male (61%). For women, those holding the most cryptocurrencies are aged 25 to 44 (26%).
Sport
Football - France forward Kylian Mbappe says it is a "dream come true" as his long-awaited move to Real Madrid was confirmed on Monday evening. Mbappe, will move on a five-year deal when his Paris St-Germain contract expires on 30 June. He will earn 15m euros (£12.8m) a season, plus a 150m euro (£128m) signing-on bonus to be paid over five years, and he will keep a percentage of his image rights.
Meanwhile, England won their friendly match on Monday evening here’s BBC sport with more….
Tennis – Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter finals of the French Open but could face an uphill struggle after suffering a knee injury. Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev has become the highest seed to fall in the French Open singles after losing to Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the men’s fourth round.
American Football - Dallas Cowboys legend Larry Allen has died aged 52. The Cowboys said Allen died suddenly on Sunday, while on holiday with his family in Mexico. Allen spent 12 of his 14 seasons in the NFL with Dallas, helping them to victory over Pittsburgh Steelers at Super Bowl 30 in January 1996.
Weather
Cloudy, clearing by this afternoon with sunny intervals. A moderate breeze. Highs of 23 degrees in Nice and Toulon. 21 degrees in Monaco and Saint-Tropez. This evening going down to 16 degrees and cloudy.
The outlook for Wednesday and Thursday sunny intervals highs of 23 degrees.
Sunrise 05.49am
Sunset 09.07pm
Sea temperature
Menton 20.2°
UV level 5
Weather elsewhere
Bordeaux 26 sunny
Palma 25 sunny
Oslo 19 light rain
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