Lightning Strike-A ten year old boy who was struck by lighting while swimming in the sea at Golfe Juan on Sunday is described as being in a stable condition but still critical in hospital today.
The boy ,from Valluris was bathing with his parents off the plage du Midi when a sudden storm developed and he was struck by lightning shortly before 9am.
He went into cardiac arrest as a result of the lightning strike and was treated at the scene by paramedics before being rushed to the Lenval Children’s Hospital in Nice.
His parents have also been receiving medical treatment for shock.
Road death-A 29 year old man who was involved in an accident on the Voie Rapide in Cannes in the early hours of Sunday has died from his injuries.
The victim was driving a Peugeot 206 when his vehicle was struck by a high powered Mercedes which had run a red light at 4.30 on Sunday morning.His 20 year old female passenger is still in a critical condition.
The 21 year old driver of the Mercedes who didn’t have a license and was under the influence of alcohol is in police custody.
Storm warning-Much of the region could be subject to thunderstorms at times today with authorities warning the public to take extra care.
People should stay away from woodland areas and not take shelter under a tree in the event of a storm.
Metallic structures such as pylons and posts should be avoided and at home people are advised to unplug televisions and internet boxes.
Water should also be avoided and campers are advised not to stay inside tents during a storm but to take shelter inside a concrete structure such as an outhouse.
Fire risk-Large areas of forest land in the Var remain on high alert for fires today with thunderstorms forecast and the risk of lightning igniting dry timber.
The prefect of the Var has banned walkers from the Massif des Maures area and the public is being urged to be extremely vigilant.
In the Alpes-Maritimes , Firefighters are still battling to control a large blaze that’s so far destroyed around 30 hectares of forest land at a remote area of Saorge above Menton.
Helicopters have been dumping water and flame retardant on the blaze which has been burning since Friday night.The area is difficult for firefighter on the ground to access and the situation is still described as difficult today.
Meanwhile ,firefighters have acted quickly to bring a blaze which started in woodland at Lorgues in the Var under control.
The fire had burned a couple of hundred square meters of trees when firefighters arrived on the scene.
Forest areas in the region remain on high alert for fires owing to the current dry conditions.
Stars-A number of top stars are due to perform during this year’s Monte Carlo Sporting Summer Festival.
Over the next few weeks top acts from Sting to the Beach Boys will be taking to the stage at a selection of different venues across the Principality.
On the 11th ,the Australian Pink Floyd Show comes to the Opera Garnier with tickets priced at 65 euros and in August attractions will include The Jacksons at the Salle des Etoiles as well as Enrique Iglesias ,Clean Bandit and Vanessa Paradis.
For ticket information go to www.montecarlosbm.com
Travellers-A large group of travellers has left private land in Hyeres in the Var after being served an eviction notice by town authorities.
The group had been camping illegally on land on the route de l’Aufrene but packed up and left on Monday.
Another group of travellers who’d set up camp on land at Saint-Nicholas in the west of the town with the owners permission ,have also moved off.
Unicorn-A motorist has been fined by Gendarmes in the Var after being stopped with a giant inflatable unicorn beach toy strapped to the top of his car.
Officers stopped the motorist in Cavalaire-sur-Mer after spotting the offender driving through the town.The toy was so big that it was obscuring the windows at the side and back of the vehicle .
He was made to deflate the toy and allowed to carry on his way.
In National News.
Drought-39 French departments have issued drought alerts and imposed water restrictions including hosepipe bans.
The warnings come following the recent heatwave with the Vendee department in the west of the country the worst affected. Authorities there have restricted the use of water for essential purposes only such as drinking, sanitation and public health with even use for agriculture restricted.
The French Bureau of Geological and Mining Research has reported that many groundwater tables around the country have unsatisfactory or lower levels than last year and that underground supplies are close to minimum.
There are no restrictions in force in the Provence Alpes Cote-d’Azur region although residents in the Var are being asked to reduce water consumption if possible.
Domestic violence-The government is to start a major consultation on domestic violence in September with a view to stamping out attacks on women.
Since the start of the year ,75 women have been murdered at the hands of their husband or partner and there have been growing street protests by women’s rights groups ,notably in Paris.
The consultation which will be launched on the 3rd of September will be overseen by the Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and will be made up from government ministers ,rights groups ,social services and the families of victims with the aim of creating better systems to tackle the problem.
Business.
Deutsche Bank has started to inform some of the 18,000 staff that are losing their jobs as part of a radical reorganisation.
One in 5 of the bank’s staff is being made redundant as part of the plans to cut costs and restore profitability.
Teams of share traders in Tokyo and other Deutsche Bank offices around Asia were told on Monday that their jobs were going while in London ,some staff stayed away from work after being told that their security passes would stop working.
A spokesman for the Bank said the the aim of the changes which will see the firm radically cut back its investment banking business was to make the company “leaner and firmer”.
British Airways says that it intends to appeal a record fine of 183 million pounds imposed for last year’s breach of its security systems.
BA ,which is owned by International Airlines Group IAG said that it was “surprised and disappointed” by the penalty which was imposed by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.
At the time ,the airline said that hackers had carried out a “sophisticated ,malicious criminal attack “ on its website.
The ICO said that it was the largest penalty that it had ever handed out and the first to be made public since a change in the rules.
Meanwhile BA is in talks with pilots in a bid to avoid a damaging summer strike.
Pilots have rejected a pay increase worth 11.5 percent over three years which BA says is “fair and generous”.
The two sides are meeting at the conciliation service Acas in a bid to find a solution.
And-An automatic pilot developed in Munich has landed a plane using image -recognition artificial intelligence to locate the runway.
At the moment ,systems on the ground at large airports beam up the position of the runway to guide automatic systems.
However , a new AI tool developed by the Technical University of Munich has landed a small plane carrying passengers by “sight” alone at an airfield in Austria.
Industry experts say that the new device could help to transform flight safety.
Sport.
Tennis-The quarter final lineups for the men’s and women’s competitions at Wimbledon have been decided with the big three in the men’s event all through safely but two of the big names in women’s tennis falling by the wayside.
World number one Ashleigh Barty was beaten in three sets by Alison Riske of the United States while the third seed Karolina Pliskova was beaten by Karolina Muchova.
Great Britain’s Johanna Konta saw off Petra Kvitova in three sets but the fairytale is over for 15 year old Coco Gauff who was beaten in straight sets by world number 2 Simona Halep.
In the men’s event Novak Djokovic ,Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all breezed into the last 8 which means that a Nadal-Federer semi final is still very much on the cards while Djokovic remains favourite to go all the way.
Football-Paris St Germain say that they’ll take “appropriate action” after Brazilian star Neymar failed to turn up for the first day of pre-season training.
The 27 year old was due back at the club’s training ground on Monday and has been linked with a move to Barcelona.
PSG’s sporting director has said in a newspaper interview that the player can leave the club if there’s an offer that “suits everyone”.
Neymar’s father has said that the club was aware his son would miss the first day of training owing to “charity commitments”.
Cricket-The first of the World Cup semi-finals is being played today between India and New Zealand.
India will be favourites with New Zealand’s form slumping a bit of late.The match at Old Trafford starts at 11.30.
The victors will meet the winners of Thursday’s second semi-final between England and Australia with the final at Lords on Sunday.
Cycling-Julian Alaphilippe has won stage three of the Tour de France between Binche and Epernay as the riders crossed into France for the first time.
Alaphilippe broke clear with a late attack on the Cote de Mutigny to win by 26 seconds and take the yellow jersey.
Defending champion Geraint Thomas lost time but managed to stay out of trouble.
Alaphilippe holds a 20 second lead over Wout van Aert with Thomas down in overall 7th 45 seconds off the overall pace.
Today’s 4th stage is 213.5 kilometers between Reims and Nancy is should suit the sprinters with just a couple of moderate climbs towards the end.
Weather.
Partially cloudy with some showers and scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon.
Moderate easterly winds and highs of 28-30 degrees Celsius.
Overnight lows of 24 degrees on the coast and 19 degrees inland with scattered showers.
Wednesday and Thursday-Partially cloudy in coastal areas with more showers and thunderstorms inland.Highs of 27-30 degrees.
A new optional regional transport tax for businesses, introduced in France’s 2025 budget, aims to fund eco-friendly mobility projects. ...
Read More
A judge has authorised a dive to inspect the wreckage of a plane in the sea off Antibes. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean on September 11 1968...
Read More
In France, drinking water is heavily contaminated with "forever pollutants," particularly trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), as revealed by two studies from ...
Read More
The trial of the Tunisian man accused of the murder of three people in the Nice Basilica attack is continuing in Paris. Yesterday the families of the ...
Read More
Four cities in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region made Booking.com's 2025 list of the "most welcoming destinations in France." ...
Read More
