French and Riviera News Wednesday 11th September 2019

Local

New website for Britons applying for residence permit - It’s been reported that the French government is set to launch a website that will allow Britons in France to apply for a residence permit online. The move comes as an attempt to standardise the procedure across the country. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the plans on Monday at a special meeting of French ministers on Brexit preparations. The website will start running in October. The new website will only process applications of people who are already residing in France at the time of Brexit. Philippe also pointed out in the meeting that a website for Brexit-related questions already exists.

Road accident - An 84-year-old woman has died and a 50-year-old woman has been slightly injured in a road accident in Castellane on the RD 4085. The accident happened on Tuesday evening. Police have asked for any witnesses to come forward in order to determine the cause of the crash.

Investigation into suicide in Cap d’Antibes - An investigation has been opened after a man committed suicide on a road on the Cap d'Antibes on Tuesday. The man, in his seventies, shot himself with a 12-bore shotgun at the beginning of the Cap, near Juan-les-Pins. It was local residents that alerted police.  

Good news for motorist in the region - It’s good news for motorists in the region who commute daily in and out of Monaco as financing for a new motorway exit at Beausoleil has been confirmed. The project is expected to take a year to complete at a cost of 6 million euros with plans for it to be open by 2022. The long queues are a daily reality for many motorists caught in traffic between Nice and Monaco..

National

French football - The head of French football has said that he had instructed referees to no longer stop matches over homophobic abuse from fans, putting him on a collision course with the sports ministry and the football league. Noël Le Graët, president of the French Football Federation (FFF), said that stopping matches for anti-gay chants and banners in the stands was "a mistake", and that he hoped his decision would take effect from this weekend's games. Speaking to French media he added that "I would stop a match for racist chants. I would stop a match for fighting or if there were a dangerous situation in the stands," But racism and homophobia "are not the same thing", he insisted, adding that it should be down to the clubs to stop those responsible from getting into stadiums.

Research - Research in Paris by The Real Urban Emissions (True) initiative has found that emissions from diesel cars – even newer and supposedly cleaner models – increase on hot days. The new study has raised questions over how cities suffering from air pollution can deal with urban heat islands and the climate crisis. Emissions from a range of vehicles were found to be many times higher than those declared by manufacturers in laboratory tests, confirming earlier findings following the 2015 Dieselgate scandal.

Water-fed chicken - Nearly 360 tonnes of water-fed chicken breasts have been distributed since mid-2018 to charities and food banks in France. The cutlets, after examination, were found to be saturated with water. The French government is now investigating "possible fraud" involving tonnes of frozen chicken cutlets that were distributed to charities.The levels of water found in the chicken were far higher than authorised European standards. Nearly 360 tonnes have been distributed since mid-2018 to food banks that feed homeless and impoverished individuals serviced by charities like Restos du Coeur, Croix-Rouge and Secours Populaire.

Le Monde - Journalists and editors at the French newspaper Le Monde have signed an open letter demanding their owners guarantee the paper’s editorial independence by giving them approval over who holds controlling shares in the company. The letter, published on Tuesday and signed by two of Le Monde’s directors as well as 450 journalists, gave two major investors in the paper a deadline of a week to agree. Staff say without an agreement, Le Monde is facing a threat to its editorial freedom for the first time in its history.

Business

Apple has unveiled its new iPhone 11 range of handsets which feature more cameras than before and an updated processor which is faster while consuming less power.

Apple said that the two new pro models would last between four to five hours longer than their XS predecessors.

However ,the firm did not launch a 5G model and some rumoured new features were also missing.

The company has also unveiled a new version of its smartwatch which features an “always on” display for the first time.

Apple has also launched a new streaming service with a 5 dollars per month charge which undercuts both Disney and Netflix.

The new Apple TV + streaming service will be available in 100 countries from November  and anyone buying a new iPhone ,iPad or Mac will get a one year free subscription to the service which could potentially draw in hundreds of millions of viewers.

 

British Airways has said that it will take “some time” for flights to return to normal following a two day strike over pay and conditions by pilots.

Some 150 aircraft are out of position along with more than 700 pilots and 4,000 cabin crew.

The airline was forced to cancel most of its flights on Monday and Tuesday due to the strike.

BA said that the nature of its highly complex ,global operation meant that it would take some time to get back to a completely normal flight schedule.

The airline is offering refunds or the option to re-book to another date of travel or an alternative airline.

 

And-The head of the French car giant PSA has said that a no deal Brexit will have serious consequences for the group  and that there would be an ethical responsibility to protect employees outside the UK.

Carlos Tavares said that the firm would take the “necessary decisions” regarding its plants in the UK which include the Vauxhall operations at Ellesmere Port and Luton and compared the prospects of a no deal Brexit to a “head on train crash”.

Mr Tavares was speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday where he criticised politicians on both sides of the argument for failing to find a solution to Brexit.

PSA has also said that its halted investment at its UK factories while the outcome of Brexit remains unclear.

Sport

Motorsport-The funeral of the French Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert has been held in Chartres.

The 22 year old was killed after being involved in a three car accident at Spa at the end of August.

A number of top Formula 1 stars including Charles Leclerc ,Pierre Gasly ,Esteban Ocon and George Russell attended the ceremony at Chartres Cathedral.

The ceremony lasted for 3 hours and was showed on a giant screen outside the Cathedral.

Football-England beat Kosovo 5-3 in an 8 goal thriller at St Mary’s Stadium ,Southampton on Tuesday night to top European Championship qualifying Group A.

France were also in action last night ,beating Andorra 3-0 in Group  H

Rugby Union-The Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones says that he “dreams daily” about winning the World Cup.

Wales fly out to Japan today to put in final training ahead of the tournament.They’re among the pre-tournament favourites to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.

The 33 year old skipper is set to become Wales’ most capped player during the competition.He’s currently just one appearance behind Gethin Jenkins who’s been capped 129 times.

Golf-Stacy Lewis has withdrawn from the US team for the Solheim Cup which gets underway at Gleneagles on Friday.

Lewis has a back injury which has flared up again and says that she doesn’t feel able to compete.She’ll be replaced by rookie Ally McDonald.

And-the former Ryder Cup player Bill Barnes has died at the age of 74 after a battle with cancer.

Barnes was best known for beating Jack Nicklaus twice in the same day during the 1975 match against the USA.

He played for Great Britain and Ireland and then Europe in 6 Ryder Cups between 1969 and 1979 and won 20 professional titles.

 

Weather

Clear skies with light variable winds.

Top temperatures 26-27 degrees.

Overnight lows of 20 degrees on the coast and 15 degrees inland with clear skies.

Thursday and Friday-Clear skies with highs of 26-30 degrees.

Finally 

Fire chiefs in the UK have banned much-loved children’s TV character Fireman Sam. Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue service in the UK has axed the 30-year-old favourite from promo material saying he is too male and puts off women from joining up.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue staff will be stopped from wearing Fireman Sam costumes. He will be replaced by in-house creations, the fire extinguisher-shaped Freddy, Filbert and Penelope.

But baffled residents said it was a ridiculous decision, comparing the characters to coloured frogs and giant male contraceptives.

Fireman Sam has been a fixture of children’s TV since being created in the 1980s by two London firefighters. The show now includes disabled and ethnic minority characters, while Penny Morris has long been part of his team in the Welsh village of Pontypandy.

But it has faced sexism claims, with a 2017 campaign to rename the show Firefighter Sam being backed by London mayor  Sadiq Khan.

Now, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue has become the first service to stop using him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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