News
French Prime Minister declares that France is drowning in debt - French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told the French parliament on Tuesday, January 14th, that “the country was drowning in debt”, making a pledge to “listen to ideas to renegotiate a landmark 2023 pension reform” in a bid to win support from the left in order to pass the 2025 budget. Bayrou said that "since the war, France has never in its history been as indebted as it is today” he went on to affirm that “no policy of recovery and rebuilding can be conducted if it does not take into account the over-indebtedness and set itself the objective of containing and reducing it." Bayrou declared that France’s deadlock was “not only financial but also political." Adding that "at the heart of this deadlock there is something cultural, our inability to live with diversity”. Concluding “it’s time to change our democratic software."
On an international level the Prime Minister declared that France must stand firm in face of ‘new world disorder’ embodied by Elon Musk, who for him represents the “new world disorder”. Bayrou cited what he called Trump’s “threats to annex sovereign territories, Greenland, the Panama canal, and even Canada”. He said it was for France to look at this “face on” and show such global powers “who we are” declaring France must be able to “express its determination”.
British skier dies at popular French ski resort - A British skier has died after a collision with another UK tourist in Les Arcs, a popular ski resort in the French Alps. The accident occurred at around 10.30am on Tuesday morning. The 62-year-old unnamed British woman is said to have crashed head-on into a 35-year-old British man on a “black” slope for advanced skiers, after losing control of her skis and died following the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services. According to local reports the British man, who was stationary at the time of the collision, suffered from a broken leg and was transported to a local hospital. Both victims were reported to be wearing helmets. An investigation is being carried out to determine the exact cause of the accident.
Tax authorities allowed to use social media and AI to detect fraud - Tax authorities in France have been given the authorisation to use social media platforms as well as AI, to detect fraud or any undeclared income. Since January 1st tax inspectors are able to create accounts on platforms such as Facebook or TikTok amongst others, to monitor an individual’s lifestyle and see if it falls in line with their declared financial situations as well as residency. The new authorisation does have limits, and only publicly available information can be used, and private messages or non-public data remain private and are not accessible.
Grand Froid Plan - Due to ongoing freezing temperatures, the Vaucluse prefecture has activated its "Grand Froid" plan. An emergency shelter with 43 additional beds has opened in Avignon to provide nighttime refuge for the homeless, helping alleviate pressure on existing services.
Saint-Charles School Biodiversity Census - 7th-grade students from Saint-Charles School have participated in a biodiversity census in the protected marine area, organized by the Monaco Association for Nature Protection In Monaco. Using the FAST protocol, they learned to identify and count key fish species, gaining practical experience in scientific methods to support marine conservation.
People in Toulon are more concerned about the threat of air pollution than those in Marseille or Nice - According to a recent survey by Elabe those that live in the Toulon area of the PACA region are more concerned about air pollution than the people of Nice and Marseille. While at the national level, 29% of respondents believe they live in a polluted environment, this figure rises in Toulon to 59%, ahead of Marseille (54%) and Nice (44%).
Wedged between the sea and the mountains, Toulon is regularly congested by road traffic and to make matters worse, the Toulon Provence Méditerranée Metropolis (TPM) announced a few days ago the postponement of the implementation of a low-emission zone (LEZ) while 12 French metropolises have already applied it. In the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region 40% of respondents said they were afraid of getting sick due to pollution.
Television programme withdrawn after online mockery – Finally, a television programme which told the story of a French woman who believed she was in a long-term romantic relationship with Brad Pitt and was scammed into paying €830,000 to help him with medical treatment has been withdrawn. The TV programme went viral and resulted in a wave of online jokes and mockery, causing the channel TF1 to withdraw the programme from its replay services on its websites on Tuesday. The scam dated back to February 2023, when Anne, who had been married to a wealthy entrepreneur, joined Instagram in order to share pictures of a skiing holiday in the French Alps. On her return, she was contacted on the social network by someone posing as Jane Pitt, the actor’s mother, who began chatting to her and said she would be a good match for her son. Anne, who said she did not have much understanding about social media, spent a year and a half communicating with the person she thought was Pitt. The TF1 programme makers said Anne had filed a police complaint over the scam.
Business
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has opened the door to renegotiating a disputed pension reform in France. Speaking on Tuesday in front of the National Assbemly Bayrou move comes in a bid to win over left-wing lawmakers which he desperately needs in order to pass the 2025 budget. Bayrou's concession underlined the scale of France's political turmoil as he prepares to spend his first weeks in office.
A lawsuit has been filed by US the markets watchdog against Elon Musk. They say he waited too long, alleging he failed to disclose that he had amassed a stake in Twitter, allowing him to buy shares at "artificially low prices." The lawsuit alleges that the multi-billionaire Tesla boss saved $150m in share purchases as a result. In a social media post, Musk called the SEC a "totally broken organisation." He also accused the regulator of wasting its time when "there are so many actual crimes that go unpunished."
The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is preparing to cut about 5% of its global workforce. Meta says that it is looking to drop "low performers faster". In a memo to staff, boss Mark Zuckerberg said he had made the decision to speed up the firm's regular performance-based cuts in anticipation of an "intense year". The company, which employs about 72,000 people globally, did not say how the cuts would be distributed around the world.
Sport
Vendee Globe - French offshore sailor Charlie Dalin experienced a triumphant welcome from the crowds on Tuesday following his arrival in Les Sables-d’Olonne completing this year’s Vendee Globe in a record time and setting a new time for the solo round-the-world race in 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds. Dalin set off from Les Sables-d'Olonne on November 10th and crossed the finishing line at sunrise at 8:25am on Tuesday 14th January. The 40-year-old Frenchman was in the lead for the vast majority of the race. Overwhelmed by emotion and fatigue, the Norman greeted a large procession of boats once he had crossed the line, before collapsing for a few seconds on the deck of his sailboat under a magnificent sunrise. Speaking to reporters he said "I have never experienced such emotions, with the light of day beginning to break through, it was incredible. It is the most beautiful finish line of my entire career”.
Athletics - 1956 Olympic high jump silver medallist Thelma Hopkins, who won Empire Games gold for Northern Ireland and also held the world record, has died at the age of 88. Hopkins lived in Canada for many years, and she passed away in Edmonton on 10 January. The high jumper earned her first Northern Ireland senior titles as a 15-year-old in 1951 when won both the high jump and long jump.
Tennis - Katie Boulter has become the sixth British player to win their first-round singles match at this year's Australian Open - the most in the nation's history during the Open era. 22nd seeded Boulter, secured the new record with a hard-fought 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over Canada's Rebecca Marino.
Football – Premier League matches were dominated by draws on Tuesday evening, as Brentford drew two all against Manchester City, Chelsea also drew two all against Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest drew one all at home against Liverpool. West Ham were the only ones to change the trend by beating Fulham 3-2 at home.
This evening’s action will see Everton face Aston Villa, Leicester are at home to Crystal Palace, Newcastle United face Wolves and Arsenal play Tottenham.
Rugby Union – England coach Steve Borthwick has admitted that Jamie George is "clearly disappointed" to be replaced as England captain after one season in the job. 34-year-old George has led the team since the end of their run at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Cycling - Britain's Simon Yates will try to win the Giro d'Italia. Yates came agonisingly close to winning Italy's Grand Tour in 2018 before losing ground in the latter stages to eventual winner Chris Froome. But he has won six single stages of the three-week event across 2018, 2021 and 2022.
Weather
Sunny with a gentle breeze and highs of 13 degrees in Nice and Toulon, 12 degrees in Monaco, Saint-Tropez and Vence. Light winds and 12 degrees in Marseille. This evening going down to 5 degrees with clear skies.
The outlook for tomorrow and Friday, remaining fine and sunny with a fresh breeze and highs of 15 degrees.
Sunrise 08.00am
Sunset 05.19pm
Weather elsewhere
Lyon 5° sunny.
Glasgow 11° sunny intervals.
Miami 24° sunny intervals.
A sailboat has caught fire in the bay of Ramatuelle in the Var. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening and crossmed were quick to intervene. ...
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French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told the French parliament on Tuesday, January 14th, that “the country was drowning in debt”, making a pledge to...
Read More
Tax authorities in France have been given the authorisation to use social media platforms as well as AI, to detect fraud or any undeclared income. ...
Read More
A British skier has died after a collision with another UK tourist in Les Arcs, a popular ski resort in the French Alps. The accident occurred at arou...
Read More
Due to ongoing freezing temperatures, the Vaucluse prefecture has activated its "Grand Froid" plan.
Read More
