News
Arrest made after relative of Brigitte Macron is attacked - French police have arrested eight people after France's First Lady Brigitte Macron's great-nephew was attacked on Monday following a TV address by the French president. Jean-Baptiste Trogneux was beaten up by anti-government protesters in the northern city of Amiens. French President Emmanuel Macron has called the assault "unacceptable", adding that "violence has no place in a democracy".
The attack took place outside the family chocolate shop in Amiens, which has repeatedly been targeted by protesters. The attackers fled the scene after neighbours intervened to stop the assault.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Macron said she was in total solidarity with her family and condemned the "cowardice, stupidity and violence" of the attack.
Unions meet for talks with government - Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is beginning two days of meetings with union leaders this evening to discuss the pension reform legislation. The five main French unions will be attending the talks. The government said that it wishes to re-establish what it called "a peaceful and constructive dialogue". Unions are currently still planning to hold their 14th day of action and demonstrations on June 6th.
Man entrenches himself in his home on the port of Nice - Police cordoned off part of the port area of Nice on Tuesday afternoon after an armed fanatic entrenched himself in his home. The incident occurred on Boulevard Stalingrad shortly after 4.30pm and led to nearby college students at Port Lympia being confined to the school premises. The 56-year-old was alone in the fourth-floor apartment as police forced entry arresting the individual. He was reportedly not known to police and his behaviour was the result of a family feud.
INSEE study - According to a study carried out by INSEE and published on Tuesday the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the second region in mainland France, after Paris, where the most burglaries take place. Île-de-France. 23,400 burglaries or attempted burglaries of homes in 2022 were reported. The Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur is the only region of France in which poorer municipalities are robbed more than rich ones, particularly in Marseille and Avignon. The good news however is that the number of burglaries fell by 9% between 2016 and 2022 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Earthquake - An earthquake with a magnitude greater than 4 has been recorded in the hinterland of Nice. According to authorities the earthquake of magnitude of 4.1 was recorded on Tuesday, May 16, at 8:24 a.m., north of Barcelonette in the Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence. The shock was strongly felt in the surroundings and even as far as Roya. Falling objects were also reported. The epicentre of the earthquake was reportedly 5km deep.
Cannes Film Festival - The Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday on the Croisette. The opening ceremony saw the screening of the film Jeanne de Barry starring Johnny Depp and a special Palme d’Or awarded to actor Michael Douglas who was joined by his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones and their daughter.
Business
Following emergency talks at the White House, President Joe Biden and Republican leaders have expressed cautious optimism that a deal to raise the US debt ceiling is within reach. But House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters the two sides are still far apart. The standoff has forced Mr Biden to cut short a foreign trip. Without a deal, the US could enter a default on its $31.4tr (£25tr) debt as soon as 1 June. A failure by the US government to meet its debt obligations could trigger global financial chaos.
Almost five years after he fled to China, a former Apple engineer has been charged with stealing the company's self-driving car technology. Prosecutors accuse the 35 year old of stealing thousands of files while secretly working for an unnamed Chinese company. This is the third time an ex-Apple employee has been accused of stealing autonomous tech secrets for China.
And - Vodafone will axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years as the new chief executive sets out her plans to "simplify" the telecoms giant. The cuts equal around a tenth of its global workforce and will affect its UK headquarters and other countries. Margherita Della Valle, who is also Vodafone's finance director, said its "performance has not been good enough". Vodafone has 12,000 staff in Britain, based in seven offices including at its UK headquarters in Berkshire. The firm, which had 104,000 staff worldwide last year, has already outlined plans to cut jobs in some areas.
Sport
Football - Inter Milan are into the Champions League final for the first time since they won the competition in 2010 after beating AC Milan last night. They will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid in the final.
In this evening’s action Manchester City play Real Madrid kick off is at 9pm French time.
Tennis - Novak Djokovic has criticised Cameron Norrie's behaviour after the Briton hit him with a smash while his back was turned in their Italian Open match. Djokovic reached his 17th successive Rome quarter-final with a 6-3 6-4 win on Tuesday.
Cycling - Magnus Cort claimed his maiden Giro d'Italia stage win as Geraint Thomas maintained a two-second overall lead. Stage 11 on Wednesday is the longest of the Giro, a 219km ride from Camaiore to Tortona.
Cricket - Zak Crawley says he "doesn't care" about online criticism over his selection in England's Test team. The opener, who on Tuesday was named in the squad to play Ireland, is not on social media, which he said helps him block out "outside noise".
Weather
Cloudy with some sunny spells and the risk of light showers. Moderate breeze across the region and highs of 21 degrees in Monaco and Nice. 20 degrees in Vence, 22 degrees in Cannes and 20 degrees in Saint-Tropez.
This evening going down to 14 degrees along the coast and 11 degrees inland.
The outlook for tomorrow and Friday – unsettles with sunny intervals and thundery showers. Highs of 20-21 degrees.
Sunrise 06.03am
Sunset 08.51pm
Beach weather forecast
Nice – Cloudy. Sea temperature 17 degrees. Air temperature 19 degrees. UV level 3.
Saint-Tropez – Cloudy. Sea temperature 17 degrees. Air temperature 21 degrees. UV level 6.
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