French and Riviera News Tuesday 8th May 2021

News 

Covid hospitalizations continue to decline- Latest figures published by Public Health France have shown that the number of patients hopsitalized with covid in France continues to decline standing at 14,323 on Monday 7th June. The decline also continues in critical care units with 2,472 patients.

Meanwhile data released by the Ministry of Health has shown that more than 40% of the French population is now vaccinated. 28.2 million people have received at least the first injection of the vaccine and 14 million have completed their vaccination.

Makeshift terraces to become permanent during the summer months - Paris city council has announced that the makeshift café terraces which were in place last year to serve customers during covid will become permanent summer fixtures. The city turned over thousands of parking spaces last year to restaurant and café owners who were no longer allowed to serve indoors due to the pandemic.

In other news

Climate change – Researchers have warned that climate change will cost wealthy nations twice as much as the Covid pandemic if more is not done to slash carbon emissions. Under existing climate policies, G7 nations stand to lose 8.5 percent of GDP a year – almost 5 trillion dollars – by 2050, as temperatures rise by 2.6 degrees Celsius. Italy and France would be the worst-hit rich countries, their economies shrinking by an estimated 11.4 and 10 percent respectively.

Google fined - France's competition authority has fined Google 220 million euros for favouring its own services in online advertising. The tech giant was found to have given "preferential treatment" to Google's own "proprietary technologies" in digital adverts. Google has not contested the facts and the fine was agreed as part of a settlement procedure.

State of natural disaster - The French government has recognised a state of natural disaster for "land movements" for the municipalities of Lantosque from 2nd to 3rd October 2020 during Storm Alex, and for Nice for the period from 20th to 22nd December 2019. Victims have 10 days from the publication date to submit an estimated statement of the losses they have suffered with their insurance companies, in order to benefit from a compensation scheme. Details can be found on the Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture's website.

Eco museum – After four years of work an underwater eco museum has opened near Sainte-Marguerite Island, off the coast of Cannes. Six mask-like sculptures have been installed on the seabed that are designed to encourage marine life to return to the area. Funded by the city council of Cannes, the site was once littered with debris such as old engines and pipelines, which were cleared to make way for the museum.

Film Festival – Meanwhile Cannes has announced a draw to win tickets to this year's Film Festival. The draw is open to all residents and socio-professionals in Cannes older than 18 at the time of registration. You need to register online before Saturday, July 3rd, 2021 at 1 p.m. There's also the possibility of registering in person instead of online. You can find full details at www.cannes.com.

#summerbodychallenge - As summer approaches #summerbodychallenge and #objectifbikini are making a comeback on social media. But a new trend called “body positive” is emerging against the myth of the perfect body and losing weight. According to an IFOP survey carried out for Fitness Magazine, one out of two inhabitants of the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region is not satisfied with their body.

The challenge of “body positive” is to find the balance between the goals that we set for ourselves and the reality of what we can do. The movement was created in the United States in 1996, and started in France with the creation of the Instagram account @thebodyoptimist. Influencers and spokespersons for the movement promote self-esteem by challenging all stereotypes of what beauty is, as defined by society.

Replica Mona Lisa goes under the hammer - A replica of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa painting is going on sale in Paris, where it is expected to fetch up to €300,000. The work is said to have been created by a follower of da Vinci in the early 17th Century. It will be sold at Christie's auction house in Paris.

Business

Several top US Senate Republicans have said that they will oppose Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s G-