News
Macron plans to appoint Prime Minister within 48 hours - French President Emmanuel Macron has said that he plans to appoint a Prime Minister "within 48 hours", which would mean by tomorrow, Thursday 12th December. Macron had invited political parties to the Elysee on Tuesday afternoon, with the exception of the far-right National Rally and far left La France Insoumise. The meeting organized by the Head of State, aimed above all to conclude a “method” in which the government could move forward, avoiding another vote of no confidence.
Strike by unions at the SNCF tomorrow - In local news the two unions at the SNCF have announced strike action tomorrow Thursday 12th December. Services, should however, run as normal for all TGVs with some disruption to regional trains. Passengers are advised to check on the SNCF website or app.
Météo France data report - Data released by Météo France has revealed that global warming could cause an increase of 4 degrees across France and even an even higher increase in the PACA region. The report sets out the climate indicators for the country as a whole but, also the different regions. Experts claim that at the end of the century, we can imagine that the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region will tend towards the current climate of southern Spain, with an 18° average annual temperature while the Paris region would reach the current climate of Montpellier.
Money Laundering in Monaco - The Council of Europe has praised Monaco for its "significant progress" in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. A new report from Moneyval highlights Monaco's compliance with 39 of 40 key recommendations, with only "virtual assets and cryptocurrencies" still needing improvement. Monaco aims to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "grey list" by mid-2026.
Fight breaks out amongst high school students in Valbonne – In other news, one person has been slightly injured after a fight broke out between a group of high school students in Valbonne. The incident occurred on Tuesday lunchtime in the centre of Valbonne on the PMlace des Arcades. The reason for the altercation is still to be determined. Police intervened and have opened an investigation.
Survey shows that two-thirds of French women have experienced sexism at work – A survey carried out by OpinionWay for Elle Active and published today Wednesday 11th December, has shown that two-thirds of French women have already experienced sexism at work. While according to the study gender inequality has "slowed considerably" in France there remain many obstacles. The survey showed that 66% of women say they have already experienced sexism at work, 45% say they are not taken seriously in their professional environment and nine out of ten women (89%) regularly depreciate themselves in their professional environment leading to the feeling of imposter syndrome. 46% believe that they should do more and one in five women (21%) have accepted the fact that a man would do better than her. The women surveyed particularly blame themselves for character traits more often associated with women, such as being too nice (68%), or too emotional (60%). As a result, many of them do not always dare to ask for a raise or say "no" when asked to do an additional task and 59% do not dare to share their ideas.
Lucky win – Finally, Christmas has come early for one customer of a casino in France in what has been described as a spectacular stroke of luck. After betting with a two cent coin the individual won 50,000 euros. The jackpot was won on December 2nd at the Pornichet casino, in Loire-Atlantique, on one of the establishment's machines.
Business
General Motors has pulled the plug on funding for the development of the Cruise self-driving taxi. The company says it will now "refocus autonomous driving development on personal vehicles". The reason for the move is reportedly due to the increasingly competitive robotaxi market. In October, Tesla boss Elon Musk unveiled the electric car giant's long-awaited robotaxi, the Cybercab in California.
The price of coffee on international commodity markets has hit a record high. If it’s your morning treat you may have to fork out more to enjoy it. The rise comes as coffee traders expect crops to shrink after the world's two largest producers, Brazil and Vietnam, were hit by bad weather and the drink's popularity continues to grow. Many coffee brands are considering putting prices up in the new year.
Google has unveiled a computing chip called Willow which can solve problems in minutes. The performance of willow is extremely fast making it able to solve problems that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers billions of years to complete.
Sport
Rugby Union – Police in the UK fear that former England rugby international Tom Voyce has died after he went missing in the Northumberland area following Storm Darragh. Police began its search on Sunday lunchtime when the 43-year-old did not return home from an evening with friends. It is suspected Mr Voyce attempted to cross a river, in his car. Officers have since recovered the vehicle, but a force spokesperson said: "It is believed in his attempts to escape he has been swept away and tragically died."
Football – Liverpool have made a perfect start in Europe this season with last nights win making it six wins out of six. Meanwhile, French international Kylian Mbappe scored his 50th Champions League goal and Jude Bellingham was also on target as Real Madrid secured a much-needed win against Atalanta. The Spanish giants have struggled in Europe this year, having lost three of their five games before Tuesday's match in Italy.
Formula One – US brand Cadillac is still awaiting it approved entry for the 2026 Formula 1 season however should it get approval following an agreement in principle, it will be Ferrari that will supply the engines. Cadillac, part of General Motors, has agreed with Ferrari to buy customer engines and gearboxes until its own power-unit is ready, which is not expected to be before 2028.
Golf - Tiger Woods will return to play alongside son Charlie at next week's PNC Championship exhibition tournament in Orlando. The 15-time major-winner, who turns 49 this month, has not played since The Open in July where he failed to make the cut for the third consecutive major.
Weather
Fine and sunny with a moderate breeze. Highs of 15° in Nice and Toulon, 13° in Monaco and Vence, 14° in San Remo and Saint-Tropez. This evening going down to 6° along the coast and 3° inland.
The outlook for tomorrow, fine with highs of 15°. Friday rain is forecast and highs of 14°.
Sunrise 07.54am
Sunset 04.53pm
Weather elsewhere
Lyon 4° sunny intervals.
Lisbon 13° sunny.
Bristol 7° cloudy.
A powerful Mistral storm has swept through Provence, with wind gusts exceeding 150 km/h in some areas. ...
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France’s recently appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou has promised a new government "before Christmas" and reserves the possibility of using 49....
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A four-day strike at DHL has caused delays in package processing, raising concerns about on-time deliveries for Christmas....
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French judges in Avignon will today Thursday 19th December, deliver their verdicts in a mass rape case against 51 men that has appalled France and the...
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Monaco Info and TV Monaco are set to make way for a new television channel on September 1st of 2025. During the debates on the 2025 preliminary budget...
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