Illegal meat-Authorities in Nice say that a tonne of illegal meat has been seized from an open air market at the plaine-du-Var.
The Mayor of Nice,Christian Estrosi revealed the news in a tweet on Monday.He said that municipal and national police officers took part in the operation on Sunday and that two arrests had been made.
Over 900 kilos of meat described as unfit for human consumption was seized during the operation.It had been stored in unhygienic conditions and had no documentation of origin.
Last month,a similar amount of illegal meat was seized from the same market on the outskirts of Nice near to the Nikaia palace.
Train accident-A man has had his arm severed in an incident at Golfe-Juan train station.
Reports say that the 35 year old victim was getting off a train when he lost his balance and fell onto the track just as the service was pulling out of the station.
He’s been rushed to hospital and an attempt to sew the severed limb back on is to be attempted.
An enquiry has been launched by police and SNCF officials.
Toddler falls-A two year old girl who fell from the second floor of an apartment block in Marseilles on Sunday is still described as being in a critical condition today.
The accident happened on the Boulevard de Strasbourg in the city’s 3rd arrondissement.She’s reported to have sustained multiple injuries.
An enquiry into the circumstances of the accident has been launched.
Fake News-Authorities in Nice say that a series of photographs that have surfaced on social media in recent days showing police officers attacking firemen date from 2010.
The photographs have been used to criticise the government of President Macron with captions saying that the state has “lost control” of law and order.
Authorities say that the photographs were taken during protests by firemen over pension reforms in 2010 and have nothing whatsoever to do with current events.
Police cameras-Municipal police officers in Nice and some surrounding towns will soon be able to wear micro-cameras on their uniforms to record incidents.
A trial of the cameras was held last year and authorities have now given the green light for them to be deployed on a permanent basis.
Camera footage will now be permissible in court and it’s hoped will help to prevent crime and catch offenders.As well as Nice , officers in St-Laurent-du-Var ,Carros ,and Le-Colle-sur-Loup will also be equipped with uniform cameras.
Speedy Gonzalez-Police in Antibes have caught 42 motorists speeding in an operation on the dual carriageway linking the Philippe Rochat area to the Eucalyptus roundabout.
Among those apprehended was a motorcyclist who was caught doing 122 km/h in a 70 km/h zone.
Police in Antibes have been stepping up speed checks over the past two weeks and are promising more over the coming months.
In National News.
Grand Debate-The French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has unveiled the public results from President Macron’s two month long “Grand Debate” which was organised in the wake of the Yellow Vest protests.
Over the past 8 weeks,Mr Macron and Mr Philippe have attended a series of public meetings in an attempt to gauge the mood of the electorate on a range of issues.
Top of the list of grievances is perceived high taxes for workers on low wages followed closely by fears over immigration.
More than 2 million people responded to a series of online questions organised by the Opinonway polling company.
28.2 percent of respondents said that wealthy people should pay more tax while 10.3 percent called for the wealth tax to be reintroduced and 12.9 percent wanted VAT to be scrapped on essential items.
Speaking after the publication of the results on Monday , Mr Philippe said that cutting taxes must be a priority.
He said that France needs to lower taxes-and lower them fast.
Brexit-With the emergency EU summit looming in Brussels tomorrow , conflicting messages are still coming out of Paris on what line France will take on granting the UK any extension to Brexit.
President Macron is believed to want to play it tough with the British government and only grant a two week extension from this Friday to give authorities more time to plan for a no-deal while at the same time exerting pressure on the UK to come up with a workable plan.
However , Mr Macron is likely to face pressure from other EU member states including Germany and the Republic of Ireland to give the UK some leeway with a possible ‘flextension’ first proposed by the president of the EU council Donald Tusk seen as the correct way to help Britain out of the crisis.
Unless EU nations agree on the way forward , the UK will crash out of the bloc without a deal on Friday.
On Monday night , legislation passed by the UK Parliament to force Theresa May to ask Brussels for an extension received Royal Assent.As she’d already asked for an extension until the end of June , it’s not clear whether the new bill will carry any weight in Brussels with the EU ultimately deciding whether it wants to grant the UK more breathing space or whether it wants the country to leave the bloc.
Mrs May will visit Berlin and Paris on a whistle-stop tour today to hold talks with Chancellor Merkel and President Macron.
Driving licenses-There is some good news for British residents in France today with the French government deciding that motorists will be able to continue to use UK driving licenses even in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The government published a decree on Monday which states that UK driving licenses can continue to be used in the case of a no-deal Brexit by those who can prove “normal residence” in France.
UK nationals can also apply for their licenses to be converted to French ones under the same conditions as now.
By “normal residence” the government means those who have been living in France for 6 months.The measure will come into force the day the UK exits the EU without a deal.
For people who comply with the regulation ,licenses won’t need to be exchanged for a French one until either the photocard or license expires or if it is lost or stolen.
For those who have been living in the country for less than 6 months ,an application will need to be made for a new license as a third country national which grants a 12 month leeway after Brexit day.
Business.
A lawyer acting for the ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has said that her client is being “held hostage” by the Japanese legal system.
Jessica Finelle who’s the Ghosn family lawyer says that his “arbitrary detention” has violated his right to a fair trial and that a complaint has been filed with the United Nations.
Jessica Finelle went on to say that the standard of Mr Ghosn’s treatment did not meet international norms and that his wife,Carole Ghosn had also been a victim of the “brutal manner” in which his re-arrest last week was conducted.
Mrs Ghosn has now returned to France where she’s to ask the government to intervene on her husband’s behalf.
Carlos Ghosn was first detained in Tokyo in November and has since been charged with several offences including under-reporting his pay and transferring Nissan funds for personal use.He denies all the charges.
The insurance giant Lloyds of London is introducing a new code of conduct which will punish employees who indulge in drink or drugs.
Two years ago,Lloyds banned its staff from drinking alcohol between the hours of 9am and 5pm but this only covered around 800 direct employees.
However,Lloyds of London consists of thousands more people and independent operators.A total of some 40,000 people have pass card which gives them access to the building.
Under the new code of conduct , anyone suspected to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be barred from the building and security guards will have the right to confiscate passes.
The firm’s on-site bar is to become a coffee shop and a new hotline is to be set up to expose bad behaviour.Lloyds says that anyone found to be responsible for sexual harassment risks being banned for life.
And-Sports Direct says that the troubled department store Debenhams has rejected its offer to inject 150 million pounds into the company.
The retail tycoon Mike Ashley who owns Sports Direct had tabled the rescue bid on condition that he be made chief executive of Debenhams.
Mr Ashley has been locked in a battle with the board of Debenhams for control of the firm and has accused some executives of a “sustained programme of falsehoods and denials”.
The rejection by the Debenhams board means that it’s likely the firm will go into administration possibly as soon as this week.
Sport.
Football-The first two quarter final first leg ties in the European Champions League are being played tonight.
The all English clash between Manchester City who are still in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple and Spurs is being played at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium while Liverpool have the easiest quarter final on paper as they host Porto at Anfield.
There was one game in the English Premier League last night.Chelsea are up to third place in the table following a 2-0 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Cricket-The England skipper Joe Root made 130 on Monday to help his county side Yorkshire to a draw against Nottinghamshire in their opening County Championship Division 1 match.
Root was struck on the helmet in the very first ball of his innings by a short delivery from his England team-mate and Nottinghamshire bowler Stuart Broad but he recovered to finish on 130 not out.
Rugby Union-The French Rugby Federation has been ordered to pay former coach Guy Noves a million euros in compensation for wrongful dismissal.
The payment was ordered by an industrial tribunal in Toulouse which rejected the Federation’s claim that Mr Noves had been dismissed for serious misconduct.
Guy Noves was appointed as coach of France after the 2015 World Cup but he won only 7 of his matches in charge and lost 14.
Mr Noves had asked for 2.9 million euros in damages.Both parties can appeal against the decision.
Weather.
Partialy cloudy with some showers possible inland and light to moderate south easterlt winds.
Top temperature 18 degrees Celsius.
Overnight lows of 11 degrees on the coast and 8 degrees inland with cloudy skies and outbreaks of rain.
Wednesday and Thursday-Overcast with rain and scattered thunderstorms.Highs of 15.
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